The Thing Called Love
by Ridley Silverlake
Summary: Mikan and natsume are a couple. mikan goes to Hollywood for a movie, but when she comes back, she finds Natsume cheating on her. She gets a pen pal who helps her out. What'll happen to their relationship then? MxN R&R pls...!
1. You are the ONE!

**Summary: **Mikan Sakura is your normal average high school girl in the Alice Academy… Then one day some weird people were in the Academy and… well… just read it for yourself to find out…! The story is a lot better than the summary… NxM pairing…

A/N: Well guys… here it is… the new story you've all been waiting for! Haha! Well… as for my other story The Life of a Middle School girl, I've deleted it… But no worries, for RedMushroom will be remaking it…:)

In this fanfic, Natsume might be a bit OOC (Out of Character) because I thought so too, so I'm really sorry if he is.

Oh… and by the way… This fanfic is dedicated to russianpopprincess!!! I hope you read it:) And I'm sorry, I know I didn't do the right thing during the exam, but I promise never to do it ever again… You're right… I should've known better…

Okay… On with the story!

**The Thing Called Love**

**Chapter 1: You are the ONE!!**

**Mikan's POV**

I woke up this morning and found a note on my side table. It was written on a black piece of paper written with a red pen, it was kind of hard to read, but I managed to read it anyway.

**End of Mikan's POV**

It said:

_Mikan,_

_Meet me at the Sakura Tree…_

_10 AM…_

_-Natsume_

"Oh, it's from Natsume-kun." Mikan said to herself, "Okay then." She checked her watch for the time, '_9:00 AM, I guess I still have time for a shower and a quick breakfast._'

Mikan took a shower for 20 minutes then got dressed. She went to the dining hall to get some breakfast and stayed there for a bit longer since it was still a bit early.

Mikan checked her watch again, "Oh, sorry guys. I need to get going."

"Sure thing Mikan-chan." Anna said.

"No problem." Nonoko smiled.

"Bye Mikan-chan." Anna and Nonoko said in unison.

Mikan walked to the Sakura Tree. It was another normal Saturday morning for our dear, naïve girl, Mikan Sakura. Then she saw some weird people that she had never seen before in the Alice Academy, they were headed towards the Headmasters' building.

**At the Sakura Tree**

A certain ruby-eyed boy was seated on the branch of the Sakura tree. Asleep with his right leg resting on the branch and his left leg supporting his arm where his head lay.

"NATSUME-KUN!!" He heard the annoying high pitched voice of the girl who happened to be his dearly beloved girl friend. They have been dating since their first year in middle school, and now they were in their first year of high school. Boy, how time flies so quickly.

He looked at the annoying girl before him and jumped down the branch of the tree, "Sit!"

"Huh?" She asked with a confused face.

"I said SIT." He repeated nonchalantly.

"What? So now I'm your dog? Nu-uh" She said angrily as she looked away from the ever so famous Natsume Hyuuga.

"Just do it, Polka-dots."

"Fine."

She sat on the grass and leaned on the trunk of their favorite Sakura tree. Her arms crossed on her chest, and still looking away from the boy.

But then something shocked her as she saw the raven-haired boy lying down on her lap with a manga covering his beautiful face.

"Ne, Natsume-kun?"

"Nani?" He asked not removing the manga on his face.

"Ano… Why are you lying down on my lap?" She asked not minding her blush since he can't see her anyway.

"I'm sleepy."

"Why? Didn't you get enough sleep last night."

"I just got back this morning."

"From what?" then she saw a bruise on Natsume's arm, "Souka… Natsume-kun… You just got back from another mission didn't you?"

Silence.

"You know you should stop. You might just end up hurting yourself even more." She scolded him.

"I can't. Look Mikan, I'm doing this to protect you from Persona. Remember the last time you told me not to go on my mission?" Natsume asked.

"Hai. You listened to me and didn't go." Mikan answered.

"Yeah. And do you know what happened?" He asked with concern.

Mikan looked down and answered with guilt, "Iie."

**Flashback**

"_Natsume, why didn't you go on your mission last night?" Persona asked. They were in the Northern Forest, it was late at night and someone had called Natsume to go there to talk with him._

"_I'm tired of all your stupid missions. I have my own business and you have yours. So why don't you just mind your own business from now on, would 'ya?" Natsume said angrily._

"_Natsume, Natsume, Natsume. Do you realize what you've gotten yourself into?"_

"_What do you mean?" Natsume asked nervously. And really scared. Wait… what? The oh, so famous Kuro Neko?? Scared? At this moment? Yup. I know you guys can't believe it… but Persona was Natsume's greatest fear._

"_The next time you skip or fail a mission, I just believe that I __**have**__ to kill your beloved girl friend who keeps getting in your way." He smirked._

"_WHAT?!? You wouldn't dare put a finger on Mikan!!"_

"_Oh really now Natsume?" Persona asked, "Just watch me." And with that, he walked away._

**End of Flashback**

Then Mikan started crying, "I had no idea… Gomen Natsume-kun."

"Hey don't cry," he said cupping her face on his hand, "I'm never going to fail or skip my missions ever again."

Mikan smiled, and when she was about to say something, they heard something over the PA system, "**Students of the Alice Academy. All of you please proceed to the Academy Auditorium now.**"

"Come on Natsume-kun, let's go." Mikan said, "You can sleep later. I doubt the announcements are going to take long, it's a Saturday."

"Fine."

**In the auditorium**

They were all seated inside, but complaints were heard all over the place like, "What are we doing here?", "I was enjoying my Saturday morning until this stupid disturbance." And lots of others.

Then as everyone saw Narumi-sensei enter the room and walked up the stage, they all shut their mouths and went all quiet.

"Gomen nasai everyone… for disturbing you, but we have some very important announcements for all of you." He said through the Microphone, "There are some people in the academy from Hollywood to look for great talented students."

Oooh's and ahh's were heard all over the place. Everyone was getting excited about this event.

"But don't get too excited," He added, "Because they will be choosing only one student among thousands of you. Only one will be chosen to star in their movie."

"What?!?" They all complained about what they heard through their ears.

"Yup. They will be most likely choosing someone who is really good at singing and acting, but what they'd prefer the most is someone who can sing." Narumi continued, "But nothing to worry about if you weren't chosen, for they know that you all have great talents. But once you guys will be chosen, no more turning back, for you are the one they chose and you will HAVE to do it. With no hesitations, they will be bringing you with them a week from now." He smiled at his students and gave them his usual "Adieu!" and left the auditorium at once.

Once Narumi-sensei left the auditorium, the students started making noise again, but this time no complaints, they were all talking about signing up for the audition, except for one certain Kuro Neko who happened to be (Obviously) not interested.

"Natsume-kun!! What do you think?! Should I sign up for the auditions?" Mikan grinned.

"No." He said nonchalantly, "Now let's go, I'm sleepy."

"But Natsume-kun!! I want to!" She insisted.

"No. What if you get the part? Then you'd be busy for everything else. You should focus more on your studies if you want to get into the honor role and see your grandpa again. And besides, if you get the part, then you'd be leaving everything behind, even your friends." He said with his bangs covering his eyes and he wasn't even facing her.

"Natsume-kun… Gomen… I didn't realize that." She said as tears were filling up her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry."

"I'm sorry, I just didn't realize that."

"_Sigh._ Look, I'm just telling you this so that you'd be aware of what you were doing. Just go to the auditions if you want to, I'm not stopping you from doing anything."

"No, I'm not going to audition anymore." She smiled, "Besides, I don't want to leave anyone behind, not even my grandpa, to be honest; I'd even miss Sumire-chan if I leave." She giggled.

"Whatever. Now let's go back to the Sakura Tree, I'm sleepy."

"Okay."

**Sakura Tree**

Natsume was fast asleep on Mikan's lap, '_You look so peaceful when you're asleep._' Mikan smiled.

It was too quiet for Mikan even though she could hear the laughs of the pre-school students from the play ground, the noise wasn't enough for her since she could barely hear it. So then she decided to sing a song, her favorite song, to be exact.

_Nee yatto wakatta_

_Aisuru to iu koto_

_Betsu no sekai ikite-ite mo_

_Hitotsu no inochi_

_Anata no itami wa_

_Watashi no kanashimi yo_

_Kotoba ijou ni hibikiau_

_"Uchuu" mamorou ne_

_Inoru you ni anata wo aishite'ru_

_Me ni wa mienai_

_Sore wa ENAJI_

_(Feel like I'm in paradise)_

_Yorokobi wa_

_Nibai ni naru no_

_(I believe in dreams come true)_

_Ai wa mijika na_

_Kiseki da ne_

Then Natsume's eyes slowly opened, "Nice voice." Then he gave her a small smile barely noticeable, but Mikan saw it and it made her smile… Big time.

**Meanwhile in the Auditorium**

The people from Hollywood were talking to Narumi-sensei, Jinno-sensei, Serina-sensei, Misaki-sensei and the headmasters in the auditorium, "We haven't seen good talent in any of these students who have auditioned. Are you sure that all of them are the only ones who wanted to audition? I expected more." They said disappointed, "But no worries, we can just go to other schools to look for our star. Arigatou… for your cooperation."

"No problem, please come back anytime once you feel like it. You are all very much welcome to his academy anytime." Narumi-sensei said.

"Sorry for all the trouble."

"No trouble at all." Said one of the headmasters.

**Sakura Tree**

_Chiisa na hohoemi mo_

_Ooki na hagemashi yo_

_Fui ni kagayaki dasu subete_

_Sugu ni tsutaetai_

The people were about to leave till they heard something from somewhere near the Sakura Tree, something like a girl singing, her voice was the most beautiful and most angelic voice they have heard among all the students in the Acedemy.

_Inoru you ni anata wo aishite'ru_

_Hikari kirameku_

_Sore wa ENAJI_

_(Feel like I'm in paradise)_

_Hanarete mo_

_Tsunagatte-iru_

_(I believe in dreams come true)_

_Ai wa tashika na_

_Kibou da ne_

_Inoru you ni anata wo aishite'ru_

_Me ni wa mienai_

_Sore wa ENAJI_

_(Feel like I'm in paradise)_

_Yorokobi wa_

_Nibai ni naru no_

_(I believe in dreams come true)_

_Ai wa mijika na_

_Kiseki da ne_

After Mikan finished singing to her dearly beloved Natsume-kun, she heard someone clap from behind her, "Huh?"

"Marvelous!! You're the one I've been looking for all this time!!"

"What?! What do you mean?"

Natsume had a really bad feeling about this, he sat up from Mikan's lap, he looked at those people angrily.

"Tell me young lady, what's your name?" He asked kindly.

"Mikan, Mikan Sakura." She said with a smile.

"Mikan… What a beautiful name," he said, "Beautiful face and singing voice as well." He smiled as he touched Mikan's face. And this made Mikan blush.

And of course, Natsume was now really, REALLY angry about this.

"Tsch! What do you want from her?!" He said angrily. And when I say angrily, I MEAN angrily.

"Mikan Sakura… You are the one! You have been chosen to be the star for our new movie!!" He said delightfully.

"WHAT?!?" Natsume shouted.

Okay… Uhmm… I know the first chapter was a bit suckish and stuff. But I apologize for that. I promise the next chapter to be A WHOLE LOT better!!

Oh… if you're wondering the title of the song… It's "Inoru you ni Aishiteru" from Fushigi Yuugi/Curious Play…

Please Review…! Flames are gladly accepted as well…:)


	2. Just one week?

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews for the first chapter! I really appreciate them. Hmm… I don't really have anything to say right now… Oh… This chapter is dedicated to Hiroyuki11…! Thanks for the suggestions and advice for my fanfic…,

Uhmm… well… I got nothing else to say for now…! So enjoy the story everyone,

**The Thing Called Love**

**Chapter 2: Just One Week?**

"Mikan Sakura… You are the one! You have been chosen to be the star for our new movie!!" He said delightfully.

"WHAT?!?" Natsume shouted, "You're kidding, aren't you?!?"

"Of course not little boy." The person said with a calm smile on his face, "We're serious, and we're going to be taking Miss Sakura with us a week from now."

Natsume stood up and grabbed the guy by his collar, "She's NOT going with you!! You hear me?!?" Natsume was raging with anger, "And I'm not a little boy!!"

"Well, Sakura-san, you heard what your teacher said this morning right?" He asked as he threw Natsume's hand away from his collar and pushed him away.

(A/N: Jerk!! You have NO right to do that to Natsume-kun!!)

"Uhmm… yeah. He said that once you get chosen, there's no more turning……" Mikan stopped in dead air and stared blankly at the guy.

**Flashback**

"_Natsume-kun!! What do you think?! Should I sign up for the auditions?" Mikan grinned._

"_No." He said nonchalantly, "Now let's go, I'm sleepy."_

"_But Natsume-kun!! I want to!" She insisted._

"_No. What if you get the part? Then you'd be busy for everything else. You should focus more on your studies if you want to get into the honor role and see your grandpa again. And besides, if you get the part, then you'd be leaving everything behind, even your friends." He said with his bangs covering his eyes and he wasn't even facing her._

"_Natsume-kun… Gomen… I didn't realize that." She said as tears were filling up her eyes._

"_Hey, don't cry."_

**End of Flashback**

"**No…**" The guy started talking.

Memories started flashing back before Mikan's eyes. The day she first entered the Alice Academy. The day she and Natsume were arch-enemies…

"**Turning…**" He continued.

…The day she rescued Natsume when he was kidnapped by the Anti-Alice Organization. They day she and Natsume became closer to each other and the first time he smiled at her…

"**Back…**"

…And the day Natsume confessed his feelings for her.

"_I love you Mikan._" Those words rang through her ears, making a tear force itself down her eye.

"No… This can't be…" Mikan said quietly, "No…" but loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"I'm sorry Miss Sakura. But that's our rule."

"NO!!! Why is this happening?!" She shouted and ran straight to her room.

"BAKA!! I know she's a great singer!! But that doesn't mean that you have to force her to go with you!" He said grabbing the guy by the collar… again.

"Look. I'm not really a bad guy kid." He said looking guilty, "I'm just doing what our boss told us to do, and about that 'no turning back' thing, it wasn't my idea either. It was our boss's idea." The guy behind him nodded in agreement, "He just made that rule since he wanted the best of the best without any hesitations."

"Tsch." Was all Natsume could say.

"Look kid, if you want, while she's gone, I could watch over her for you. What do you say?" He asked kindly.

"…" He kept silent for quite a while trying to think of his decision, "How do I know if I can trust you?"

"Well… you guys from the Alice Academy all trust each other right? Nobody to not trust?" He asked.

"I don't really agree with that rule, but yeah. That's one of the rules. But what does it have to do with me trusting you, huh?"

"Hey, get me a soda would ya?" the guy asked his companion.

"Sure thing. Be right back. Give me 5 minutes."

"No problem."

Just when his companion was out of sight, "Well?" Natsume asked.

"I'll tell you something kid. I'm a graduate from this academy." He said, "Your teacher, Narumi, used to be my classmate. Best friend to be exact."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Natsume reassured.

"Well… there's only one way to find out, well, I hate do this kid, but I guess I'll have to show you."

"Tsch. You're just as annoying as he is." Natsume complained, "Fine, show me then."

He stood far from Natsume and started using his Alice. Blue stuff suddenly started to surround him and it eventually got bigger.

"So? Do you believe me now?" he asked.

"Water? Well, yeah. But I'm not amazed." Natsume said.

"And why not?" the guy grinned.

"Because you Alice cancels out mine." He said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Then Natsume started using his Alice this time. He stayed in his position and surrounded the guy with floating balls of fire.

"Oh, I get it." Then he put off the fire with his Alice.

"But fine, you can watch over the little girl while she's away." Then the guy grinned, and just when he was about to say something, "but on one condition."

"Okay then, what?"

"You don't touch her. Or else…" Then Natsume threw a ball of fire towards a nearby bush and the guy just watched it burn 'til it all turned into ashes.

"Yes, sir!" He said threatened by Natsume even though he had a water Alice, "_Gulp _I'll protect her with all my life— Uhh…"

"Natsume… Natsume Hyuuga." Natsume said as he started to walk away.

"I, Touya Asai, will protect your girlfriend, Miss Mikan Sakura, with all my life. You can totally trust me, Mr. Natsume Hyuuga." He grinned.

"Whatever. Just don't let anyone touch her. Including you." And with that, he continued to walk.

**With Mikan**

Mikan was in her double star room crying her eyes out, thinking of what would happen once she left, but she wasn't alone there. All her friends were there with her, Hotaru, Yuu, Ruka, Narumi-sensei, Youichi, Sumire (Whoa! Why is she there?), Kokoroyumi, Anna, Nonoko, Tsubasa, Misaki, Kaname. Heck! Even Mr. Bear was in the room with all of them.

Well, maybe not all of them were there, Natsume wasn't.

"It's okay Mikan-chan. You can write to us if you want to." Yuu said trying to comfort her,

"Yeah. And we'll write back." Said Anna.

"We'll even send you Howalons if you like." Nonoko added.

"I'll make a stuffed animal for you, one that talks." Kaname suggested, "That way, you'll have a companion."

"Mikan-chan, don't cry I'll buy you everything you want before you leave." Tsubasa said.

"I'll send you pretty dresses and skirts when you're there." Said Misaki who happened to be pushing Tsubasa out of the way.

"I'll bake you the yummiest cookies you've ever tasted!" said a certain pink-haired girl who stood in front of her.

"I'll give you my baka gun." Hotaru said.

"Hontou ne?" Asked Mikan wiping away her tears.

"Iie." Hotaru answered as she stuck a cookie in her mouth.

"Hotaru-chan, you're impossible." She said.

"But I'll give you the turtle I used before I left our hometown." Hotaru handed her a green turtle with a winder at the back, "Here."

"Arigatou Hotaru-chan." Mikan smiled as she ran towards her best friend and was about to hug her but then—

_BANG!!!_

"Itai!! That hurt Hotaru-chan! Demo… Doushite? Why do you always do this to me Hotaru-chan? I'm leaving and all you can do is avoid me when I'm trying to hug you?" She said rubbing her head which hit the wall after Hotaru moved out of the way during her best friend's attempt to hug her.

"It's not like you aren't coming back, right?" She said as she brought out a tetra pack of apple juice from her back pack and drank from it with a straw.

"But I'm leaving for no one knows how long!" She shouted almost crying.

"Fine then. Hug me." Hotaru said in a Monotonous voice.

Then Mikan captured Hotaru with a breath taking literally hug, "Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan can't breathe." Anna said as they all watched Hotaru turn blue, then Mikan let go, "Sorry." She grinned.

"It's okay Mikan-chan! Now that you're famous, I can give Natsume to you." Sumire said sarcastically.

"Really now?" Everyone asked at the same time.

"Yup. And I can make you the new president of the Natsume fan club." She added, "But I'll still remain president of the Ruka fan club if you don't mind. And we can be best friends!!"

"Mhm. And Dogs can fly!!" They all said sarcastically to Sumire.

"Oh, come on Permy, giving the fan club to Mikan? Make her president? Give Natsume? And become best friends with her? Are you serious?" Yuu asked her.

"Iie." She laughed as she walked out of the room, "But the part about being best friends with a famous person sounds so cool! Haha!" And she continued walking back to her room.

"I think she's just taking advantage of Mikan since she's about to become a famous Hollywood actress." Said Yuu and they all chuckled.

Then Mr. Bear walked towards Mikan holding out a flower with a note along with it, "Wow! Thanks Bear-san!! I really appreciate it!"

Mr. Bear walked away as Mikan read the note. It read:

_Mikan-chan,_

_I will not beat you up today since you're leaving already…_

_So when you come back…_

_Just come to me and I will give you your welcome back present…_

_-Mr. Bear_

"Wow! Arigatou!" She said, not knowing what that welcome present was.

"I hope Mikan-chan knows what Bear-san means about Welcome Back Present." Yuu said worriedly.

"I hope so too." Tsubasa said as a huge sweat drop rolled down his head.

"Well, Mikan-chan," Narumi stood up from his chair, "If you like, I can ask my friend to look after you while you're in Hollywood." He smiled.

"Hontou ne? Who?" Mikan's eyes were starting to have that normal look in them again.

"You know the guy who told you that you're going to be the star for their movie?" Narumi walked towards Mikan.

"Yeah, but I don't know his name." Mikan put a finger on her chin trying to remember if that person did say his name or not.

"His name is Touya Asai, my classmate when I was a student here in Alice Academy." Narumi smiled.

"Oh! So that means I can trust him?"

"Hai. Actually he was my best friend." Narumi explained, "We were classmates since elementary you see."

"Oh wow! Arigatou otou-san!!" Mikan squealed with happiness, and Hotaru's left eyebrow shot up after hearing what Mikan said, "I can't believe you're best friends with a guy from Hollywood!"

"Sure thing, you know, it's been a while since you've called me dad. Haha! But believe it or not, it's true." Narumi smiled.

"It's true alright. The guy has a water Alice." Said a certain raven-haired boy with a deep voice, who happened to be leaning on the doorframe of the room.

"How did you know Natsume-kun?" Mikan looked at him with a very confused look on her face.

"He offered to watch over you while you were away."

"And? What did you say?" Yuu asked.

"Of course I agreed after he said he was an alice. Do you think I'd leave Mikan alone?" Mikan blushed upon hearing Natsume say this.

"Actually, he has two Alices, not only a water alice, but also a Nulli—" Narumi stopped in dead air and realized what he had just heard.

"Did you just call her Mikan??" Everyone Except Mikan and Natsume of course asked Natsume at the same time.

"Tsch!" Natsume walked out of the room.

They all stared at the door for half a minute or so, then all their eyes turned to Mikan.

"Haha! I guess so." She said scratching the back of her head.

"Anyway, Touya has a water Alice AND a Nullifying Alice like Mikan-chan." Narumi continued, "So some of the students during the auditions must've wondered why the other students with voice pheromones, music Alices, etc. who used their Alices on the judges weren't able to get the part, that was because Touya had a Nullifying Alice."

"Souka." Yuu said.

"Oka-san…" A child walked towards Mikan.

"Huh? Oh, hi Youchi-kun. You're here too? I didn't notice." Mikan smiled at the sight of the adorable elementary boy in front of her.

"Don't cry mommy… I'll be back here when you come back. I promise that I'll be the first one you see once you enter the—" Almost crying, the little boy tried to finish his statement but his tears rushed out of his eyes which made him unable to finish what he tried to say, but Mikan understood exactly what he was trying to say.

"Don't cry You-chan. I too, promise that you'll be the first one I'll see when I come back." Mikan embraced him as endless tears forced their way out her eyes.

Time passed by so quickly as Mikan cried her eyes out for almost the whole afternoon. But for all you know, not only Mikan was crying, everyone in the room as well as Mr. Narumi cried. At least a single tear fell from each and every one of their eyes.

It was five in the afternoon and they were all still talking in Mikan's room, some were seated on the chairs, some were seated at the edge of Mikan's bed, and some were even on the floor.

"Well, Mikan-chan, it's getting late. Why don't we grab some dinner?" Narumi suggested.

"You guys go ahead. I'll skip dinner just for tonight; I'm not really that hungry." Mikan wiped the tears off her eyes.

"Okay then. If you say so." Narumi said.

"We hope you feel better Mikan-chan." Anna and Nonoko walked out the door.

They all said their goodbye's and goodnight's and made their way to the dining hall, except for on certain purple eyed genius who stopped dead on her tracks.

"What's the matter Hotaru-chan? Aren't you going to eat dinner? I heard they're serving crab tonight." Mikan laughed.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Hotaru's position remained the same, her back facing her best friend who was sitting on the bed.

"Iie. But I have to, they said there's no more turning back." Mikan said sadly.

"Okay then. One more question."

"Nani?"

"Why the hack did you call Narumi-sensei otou-san????" She asked as her eyes had those weirded out expression on them.

"Oh that! Haha! Well, you see. When I first entered the academy, the time I tried to go back to grandpa, you remember that, ne? Narumi-sensei rescued me from some bad people who tried to kidnap me. Then I stayed in his room for the night, and asked him if I could call him grandpa." Then Hotaru sweat drop anime style, "But then he said he wasn't old enough to be called grandpa, but then he said that dad would be okay. That's the reason why I call him dad. But it's been years now, since I called him that. But now that I'm leaving, I just felt like calling him that again."

'_So that's why._' Hotaru thought suspiciously, "Okay. Anyway, I'm going to eat now, I'm hungry. Are you sure you're not going to eat?"

"Hai. Go on and eat. I'll see you tomorrow Hotaru-chan. Goodnight." Mikan said.

Hotaru walked out the door and waved at Mikan, then shut the door.

"I'll miss you Hotaru-chan." Mikan said to herself.

Suddenly, the thought of a certain raven-haired boy flashed through Mikan's mind. Mikan looked at the stars and found the brightest star she could see and made a wish, '_Natsume-kun, aishiteru, you're the person I love the most. And I wish that you love me just as much and that you'll never replace me with another girl._'

**Meanwhile**

In the room of a certain kuro neko, only an open window with curtains flying because of the cool breeze from outside was all you could see.

But if you looked outside that certain window and looked up to the roof, you would see a young teenage boy sitting there with his head down. Crystal-like objects would be seen falling from a certain part of his face. He looks up to the sky and looks at the moon and the stars. And there, you would see what those mysterious crystal-like objects are. Endless tears falling from those beautiful pair of ruby eyes.

He looked at the brightest star he could see and made a wish, '_Mikan, Aishiteru. I hope you love me just as much. Please don't forget me._'

**---********END OF CHAPTER********---**

Well, I hope you liked it. , This chapter reminded me of the time my best friend had to go back to Korea when I was in grade 6…! Haha! Anyway, please review!! Flames are gladly accepted…, Hiro-chan, I hope you liked it…,

Ja ne,

Ridley-chan ,


	3. Goodbye

A/N: Hey there!! I'm back!! Haha! Anyway… Thanks for all the reviews!! I really appreciate them…,

I guess there's nothing to say for now. So please just enjoy the chapter…,

DISCLAIMER: I **DO NOT** OWN GAKUEN ALICE!! BECAUSE IF I DID... THEN THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A SCENE IN THE ANIME WHEREIN MIKAN AND NATSUME ARE KISSING. _SIGH_

"Hello" – Statement

Hello – Narrator

'_Hello_' – Thoughts

"_Sigh _Hello" – (Italicized word) action in a statement

'_**Sigh **__Hello_' – (Bold phased word) action in thoughts

"HELLO" – many people are saying it

'_HELLO_' – Thoughts of many people

_Hello _– Flashback

Well, anyway... This chapter is more on humor but goes to drama /romance at the end. LoLz! This Chappie is dedicated to Sakura-Chan!!! Happy Birthday!!

**The Thing Called Love**

**Chapter3: Goodbye...**

A very beautiful and soon-to-be-famous brunette lay down on her soft bed in her cozy double star room. The rays of the sun entering the window struck her pretty face as her eyes slowly opened. She stood up and went to the bathroom to wash up for a bit and noticed how puffy her eyes were.

After washing her face she took a short shower, it was a Monday so she went out of the bathroom wearing her bathrobe and changed to her school uniform. She exited the bathroom, checked her clock, and saw the time, it was quarter to seven, "I think I'm too early. So I guess I'll go to the Sakura tree for a while."

She grabbed her phone from her desk and saw a new text message, '_Sakura-san, its me, Touya, d guy hu 2ld u d news abt being d star 4 our muvi. Narumi gave me ur number. I just wantd 2 tel u dat u'l b leaving ds coming Saturday. N if ur wondrng hw long u'l b gone, u'l b gone 4 1 yir. Wel, ur bf, Natsume, agreed dat I watch ovr u wyl ur gone, so did narumi. So dnt worry. _'

"One year, huh?" Mikan walked out of her room, locked it and headed to the Sakura tree.

She sat under the tree and heard some footsteps coming towards her, "Hey, you're early today." Then that person sat beside her.

"Yeah. I guess I slept early last night because I was crying my eyes out." She said to the person next to her, "Natsume-kun, I don't want to leave." She started crying, and then she felt something warm embrace her. Well, maybe it was a someone.

"Don't cry. I know you can't reject their offer but I promise you that I'll wait for you to come back. No matter how long it'll take." He hugged her tighter as if not wanting to let go, "I won't forget you, Mikan."

"I'll be gone for a whole year. Promise you won't forget me?" Tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks getting Natsume's shirt wet.

"I promise, and I also promise that when you come back, you'll find me in this very same spot under this exact Sakura tree waiting for you." He smiled.

Mikan nodded.

**RIIIIIING!**

"Well, I guess we better head straight to the classroom." Natsume broke the hug, stood up, and offered his hand to Mikan.

Mikan took his hand and stood up as they walked hand in hand to the classroom.

**In The Classroom...**

"Ssssshhh!! I hear someone coming!" A student said.

Then the door opened revealing—

"SURPRISE!!! WE'RE GOING TO—" They all stopped at the sight of their teacher standing in front of their classroom's doorstep, "OH, IT'S JUST YOU..." They all said in unison.

"Waiting for Mikan-chan I suppose? Well, I'm sorry for barging in like that. But I wanted to join your little celebration since I'm your adviser." Narumi sweat dropped.

"But how'd you find out Narumi-sensei?" Sumire asked.

"Your substitute teacher told me that you kicked him out of the classroom for some reason, and I figured I knew why. So I decided to check it out." Narumi smiled.

"Hey... I hear someone coming. Quiet everyone." Then they all hid behind the tables and chairs including Narumi.

The door slid open and... "SURPRISE!!! WE'RE GOING—" Then they all shut up, "Man! Not again." Mochu sighed.

"Nani?!" A brown haired man who was standing in front of the door asked, then the students gave him death glares, "Oh, okay. You were waiting for Mikan-chan weren't you? I'm sorry. I thought she already arrived since I heard shouting in here a while ago."

"Well, that's the second time Misaki-sensei. The first time, we thought Narumi-sensei was Mikan." Koko sweat dropped.

"Gomen. I just thought that I'd join in the fun. Oh, and I brought Serina along with me, is that alright?" He asked.

"No problem. The more the merrier." Narumi grinned.

"Okay then."

"Hey, I think I hear Mikan-chan." Ruka said. Then everyone including all three teachers hid behind the tables and chairs.

The door slid open, they all jumped out of their hiding places, "SURPRISE!!! WE'RE—" obviously it wasn't Mikan that they saw, it was, "NATSUME?!?!?!"

"Hn." Then someone came out from behind him.

"Hi guys! Nice place! Why did you have to decorate the classroom?" A brunette asked.

"_BLINK, BLINK, LOOK LEFT, LOOK RIGHT, LOOK AT MIKAN..._"

"SURPRISE!!! WE'RE GOING TO MISS YOU MIKAN-CHAN!!!!!" They all ran to her giving her presents.

"A-Arigatou, you didn't have to do this for me. I... I don't know what to say." Tears started to flow out of Mikan's eyes.

"It's no problem really, since we had extra class funds, we decided to use it for the decorations." Ruka smiled.

"We didn't have much dinner last night, and we barely slept at all because we were decorating the classroom the whole night. And it's all because of you," Hotaru said nonchalantly, "Baka."

"Oh, Hotaru-chan!!!" Mikan ran to her and hugged her, "I'm going to miss you!!"

"..." Hotaru remained silent then, "Me too." Then she hugged her back.

"Well, we've enough of this mushy scene, haven't we, guys?" Mochu said.

"HAI!!!" They all agreed.

"It's time to party!!!" Koko shouted.

"YAY!!!" The whole class jumped with joy as they started their good-bye party for Mikan.

They ate food, played games (But don't expect any party games since they're not children anymore. LoL) like seven minutes in heaven, truth or dare, and even had a food fight, and before you know it, the day passed by so quickly, it was now four o'clock in the afternoon and almost time for the day to end, but the party to end?? No way!! They still had a lot to do for the party. Can you guys guess what?

"Aww... It's four o'clock, it's time for our dismissal." Mikan complained.

"Do you really think this party is over Mikan-chan? I don't think so..."Hotaru said.

"What do you mean, Hotaru-chan?" Mikan asked.

Then Koko jumped out from behind Hotaru, holding a pillow, "Slumber Party!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!! Woooohhhoooo!!!!" He screamed and hit Mikan with a pillow.

"Slumber party?? Why didn't you guys tell me?? I don't have a sleeping bag, or any clothes either." She asked.

Then Hotaru brought out another one of her inventions, "Invention number 71, The Flashback. You put it on someone's head like a hat, and once the person thinks of or remembers what happened on a particular time or day, The Flashback will show the flashback that the person wearing it is having."

"Uhh... Can you repeat that? In English please? I don't quite understand your language Hotaru-chan." Anna sweat dropped.

"_Sigh_ In other words, this invention can show a flashback that a person is having." Hotaru explained.

"Souka." Nonoko said.

"Ruka, come here. I need you to wear this so Mikan-chan can see." Hotaru dragged him towards the chair and put the hat on him.

"Why me?? You were there too, right?? Why won't you use your crazy invention on yourself, huh?" He asked.

"Because it hasn't been tested yet." She prepared the invention and then plugged it in.

"What?!? Now you're making me your guinea pig?!?" Ruka tried to free himself, but it was too late, so Hotaru strapped him to the chair before he even realized it.

"Iie. Not really. It has been tested already. But not on humans. I tested it on Amanatsu, and it worked perfectly, and now is my chance to test it on a human being," She had those evil look in her eyes yet again.

"Nani?!? Of course it would work perfectly, she's a robot, what could possibly go wrong??" He, again, tried to free himself.

"Shut up. Now try to remember what happened last night." She said.

"_Sigh_"

Then something appeared on the projector, it was Koko, Ruka, Anna and Hotaru.

"_snore snore snore" a brunette was sleeping... Uhh... not so soundly in her three star room._

"_Hotaru, tell me again why we're sneaking into Mikan-chan's room? And why are we crawling?" Anna asked._

"_We're having a slumber party tomorrow, and we need to get clothes for her. And we're crawling because we don't want her to see us in case she wakes up." Hotaru replied._

"_Oh." Said Anna._

"_Cool, polka-dots! Ahahahaha!!" Koko laughed. Then Ruka sweat dropped._

"_Koko!! I told you to just get her sleeping bag! Not to open her drawers and laugh at her underwear!!" Hotaru scolded him._

"_I know! I'm following orders! Besides her drawer is way over there. Haha!" Koko laughed, "I just saw yours, Hotaru! Ahahahaha!!"_

"_Pervert." Hotaru got pissed off._

_Baka!!! Baka!!! Baka!!!_

"_Itai!!!" Koko rubbed the part of his butt that hit the wall._

"_Hey! Not too noisy. Mikan might wake up." Anna said._

"_She started it." Koko said, "She was the one who showed me her underwear."_

"_One more word out of your mouth and you're dead." Hotaru pointed her Baka Gun at Koko, "Don't forget, this room is on the fourth floor."_

"_Okay, okay, okay." Koko said threatened by Hotaru's statement._

_**Two minutes later...**_

_They went out of the room quietly and then..._

"_snore, snore, snore... snore"_

"And that's what happened." Hotaru switched off the invention.

"I can't believe it... you... you..." Mikan was starting to shake.

"I know, Mikan-chan, we sneaked into your room, and we know it wasn't good, but it was for the party and for you." Anna said.

"We did it for you Mika-chan." Koko and Ruka said worriedly.

"For the party." Hotaru said.

Mikan was shaking, no one could tell if she was angry or not, but one thing's for sure, she was red, "Mmmmph..." Mikan tried to stop it.

"Mikan-chan, what's wrong??" Yuu asked.

"Aaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!!!! Haha!! I— Hahahaha!!! Can't— hahahahaha!!! Believe it!!! Hahahahaha!!!" Mikan burst out laughing.

'_WHAT'S UP WITH HER??_' Everyone backed away from her.

"Ahahahaha!!! Ahahahaha!!! Hotaru-chan— Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!! You—" Mikan pointed at her best friend, everyone sweat dropped, including the teachers, "Hahahahahaha!!!!!!! You— Hahahahahaha!!!!"

"JUST SAY IT ALREADY!!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Hotaru-chan!! You wear Polka Dotted Panties!! Ahahahahahaha!!! Hahahahahahah!! I— Hahahahahahahahahaha!! Can't— Ahahahaha!! Ahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Breathe!!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!" Mikan laughed her heart out.

"_SILENCE... _AHAHAHAHA!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Then everyone burst out laughing, except for Natsume and Hotaru of course. Natsume just smirked.

_Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka. Reload. Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka. Reload. Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka. Reload. Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka. Reload. Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka. Reload. Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka. And so on..._

Hotaru hit everyone in the room, "Cruel people. _Blows baka gun._"

"ITAI!! HOTARU-CHAN!!" Mikan rubbed her butt, Anna rubbed her head, and Nonoko rubbed the side of her stomach.

"Nani?!? Why me?!? I didn't even laugh!! What's your problem?" Natsume complained after being shot by the baka gun.

"You smirked." She said then reloaded her baka gun again.

"Well, anyway. Let us continue with the party. Serina-sensei decided that we should watch a movie." Narumi announced, "So what do you all say?"

"Sure! But where do we get the movie?" Nonoko asked.

"We have tons of movies in the auditorium, and we can borrow the television and the DVD player there too." Narumi explained.

"It's all here Narumi-sensei!" A handsome High School boy carrying a DVD player entered the room entered the room. Behind him were four gorgeous pink-haired girls carrying a big flat-screen plasma TV. Wow! O.O

"I received your message about the party and about the movie, so we decided to join in and on our way here, we thought we should get the TV and the DVD player, even the movies that we'd all want to watch." They said n unison and they all smiled.

"Really now? So where are the DVD's?" Misaki-sensei asked.

"Here with me." A very good-looking person entered the room, "I was allowed to go out of the hospital to day."

"Gomen for being late for the party. We had to attend classes too you know. Haha!" The dark blue haired boy said. (Is his hair dark blue or not? LoLz... I'm not sure what color his hair is.)

"Tsubasa-sempai!! Misaki-sempai!! Even Kaname-sempai is here! Yay!!" Mikan was really happy.

"What about me? Have you forgotten about me, you old hag?" a cute silver-haired boy appeared from behind the four girls.

"YOUICHI-KUN!!!" Mikan jumped towards him and got ready to hug him until— "Ow!!! My nose!!! Youichi-kun! That hurts more than Hotaru's baka gun hitting my head." Mikan rubbed her red nose which had a cross shaped bandage on it, "well, let's watch a movie!! What are you all waiting for??"

"We're waiting for you to pick a movie you want to watch," Kaname smiled, "We didn't get much, we only got the ones on the first row of the shelf. So we don't really know what movies are here."

"Just go over there to Kaname and pick a movie, while Tsubasa and the four of me set up the TV and the DVD player." Misaki said.

"Okay then." Mikan ran to Kaname and looked for a movie she wanted to watch, "Hmm... too scary... Yuck! Too mushy... Uhmm... No... I hate action... Comedy!!! Yay!!! I found a movie!!!" Mikan raised the DVD high up in the air.

"Good. Now, let's watch. So, what movie did you get, Mikan?" Kaname asked.

"SHREK 3!!! Haha! This one makes me laugh a lot." Mikan smiled.

"Haha! I watched that in the hospital with Tsubasa and Misaki-chan, I love that movie." He smiled, "You know, The first time I met you, you were only this short," Kaname aligned his hand near his stomach / waist, "And now look at you, all grown up and about to leave for Hollywood."

"Don't worry, Kaname-sempai!! I'm coming back next year!" Mikan said.

"I know you will." Kaname grinned and put his hand on Mikan's head.

(A/N: Okay, let's fast forward this... shall we??)

**Fast Forward...**

One week has passed, and all of Mikan's things were packed. Her room was as empty as how it was when she first got it. Tears fell from her eyes as she carried her stuff out of her room.

She was wearing jeans paired with a black shirt inside a white (with a hint of light blue and red) jacket with a zipper and a hood, and pink and white rubber shoes. Her hair tied in a half pony tail.

When she opened her door, she saw all her friends standing there, "Mikan-chan, we're going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too, guys." Mikan put her luggage down and wiped her tears away with the sleeves of her jacket, "but there's nothing I can do." More tears came out of her eyes as she felt someone hug her.

"It's okay. Even if you can't stay now, it doesn't mean that you're not coming back, ne? As long as you came back, we're all fine with it. Right, guys?" Hotaru said with a warm smile on her face.

"YEAH!" They all went towards Mikan and gave her the greatest group hug she would ever experience.

"Fiends forever! Ne, Mikan-chan?" Anna said.

"Hai!" Mikan smiled.

"WE WON'T FORGET YOU, MIKAN-CHAN!" Nonoko, Anna, Koko, Sumire and Yuu said.

Mikan checked her watch to make sure that she wasn't late, but too late for that, "Ah!! Gomen, guys. But I have to go. I'm going to be late." Mikan carried her luggage once again and was now ready to start walking but turned to look at her friends again, "Bye guys. I'm going to miss all of you. Please tell that to Natsume too. Since I don't see him anywhere." She smiled, yet her smile wasn't a smile anyone would want to smile back at, it was a sad smile. Tears went out of her eyes, she couldn't force the smile to stay on her face, the tears forced her to frown more than to smile, and since she didn't want to let her friends see her like this, she had to turn away, "_Sniff, Sniff _Bye, guys." And with that, she ran off.

**Academy grounds**...

A limo was waiting for Mikan in front of the girls' dormitory.

"_Pant, Pant_" A boy was running towards a black limousine in front of the building where a brunette is supposedly about to come out from, '_Darn! Why did I have to wake up so late?!_'

Mikan went out of the dormitory and reached her hand out and was about to open the door of the car.

'_**Pant, Pant**__Nearly there._' He was running towards the brunette, only four feet away, will he make it?

Mikan was crying, too depressed to even notice someone running towards her. Her eyes too blurry to see her surroundings.

She was about to enter the vehicle until— "Not so fast." A deep voice spoke so close to her.

Her vision was too blurry because of the tears for her to be able to see who was in front of her. She wiped the tears off of her eyes so that she could see properly, "N... Na... Natsume-kun?"

"You think you can leave and not come back for a year with out saying goodbye to me?" He smirked.

"Oh, Natsume!" Mikan's tears started flowing out of her eyes yet again as she hugged Natsume. (How I wish I was in Mikan-chan's shoes right now!! I wanna hug Natsume-kun too:3)

Natsume was shocked but decided to hug her back, "Mikan..." Natsume broke the hug then held Mikan's chin with his thumb and index finger.

That beautiful moment, what you see in front of you (Not literally... LoLz) a cute couple kissing each other goodbye.

And next thing you know... A brunette sitting in the back seat of a limo, on her way to the airport going to Hollywood, USA.

**----********End of Chapter********----**

I hope you guys liked it... I think it was somewhat corny... don't you think so?

Sorry for some typos if there are any...! LoLz

**For Sakura-chan**: Well, I made this chappie long on purpose for you! LoLz! Happy Birthday Bez!! The clothes Mikan wore before she left was the clothes I wore to your party…! LoLz BTW, thanks for the one year supply of food! XP

Well, anyway... Reviews are gladly accepted!! Flames are not required, but will be very much loved by me!! Haha! But I would love reviews better than flames!! LoLz... Suggestions, reviews, flames, etc. everything is accepted!! LoLz

Love Ya guys!!

-Ridley-chan


	4. Welcome back, stranger

**DISCLAIMER: **I DO NOT own Gakuen Alice...! Because if I did, then I would've made it 52 episodes instead of 26...! XD

A/N: Yo! LoL! Haaaahh!! Sorry for not updating for a long time...! School is in the way...! LoLzz! Especially homework!! And exams are this week!! DX

By the way, Sumire might be a bit OOC in this chapter.

Okay! Hmm… I would like to thank everyone who reviewed!

**Hiroyuki11**: My personal critic...! LoL! Thanks for the... Uhmm... Criticizing...! P And for pointing out my mistakes...! I got mistakes in the first and second chapter... And tried to fix them in the third one... But I guess they just got worse... LoL! I can't find any other ways to fix them... so I guess I'll have to leave them like that... –sweat drop- Heheh! Sorry... And Tsubasa, Misaki and Kaname are in High School. And yah... of course I read my e-mail. I just don't have time to reply to them... I'm sorry... And Touya won't really be in the story... , Oh, and I'm not able to read your story... I'm sorry, I just don't have the time. I promise I'll read it once I'm free from homework.

**Sonya**: Haaaahh!! I can't breathe! LoL

**ldalada**: Well... I'm sorry... you said you hope that I update super fast... But I guess I couldn't... Sorry...

**Serina Hikari**: Hmm... About your review... I'm sorry... I guess you'll just have to read it 'til the end to find out...!

**funny sakura**: Sorry for not updating soon...! And don't worry... Mikan's coming back... But... hmm... well... Just read it to find out... Heheh! NO BAKA GUN PLEASE!! TT

**Natsume18**: Thanks...! Your review made me feel more confident!! LoL!

**xXxNaNa-cHaNxXx**: Hmm... Like my answer to all the others... Just read 'til the end to find out!! LoL!

And to the other Reviewers:

**Sakura-chan0610**

**snowangels88**

**XfhylliseXanne**

**-'neko-chikka'-**

**-KateDominiqueXalice-**

**RoyalGoddess**

**kaYeYe**

**jeje-chan**

**glenda23**

**orange**

**forchan**

If your name isn't here, then I'll put it on the next chapter.

Okay I guess that's it, Enjoy the Chapter!!

**The Thing Called Love**

**Chapter 4: A year Later: The Movie Is Out!**

_One year after Mikan left:_

A wonderful Saturday morning at the Alice Academy. Everyone was rushing towards their friend's dormitories to watch a movie. Some were on their way to the auditorium of the school and cinema in central town to watch it in a 20-foot screen TV.

"What's everyone rushing for?" Ruka asked the raven-haired girl beside him.

"Today is the day when Mikan's movie is being premiered in theaters." She took a big bite from her sandwich.

"Really?? Then we better hurry or they'll run out of tickets!" He rushed towards the ticket booth but was stopped by a tug on the back part of his shirt.

"Not so fast, let's watch it in Natsume's room instead. He has a flat screen TV. And besides they're showing it on TV as well anyway." She pulled him towards the bus stop and they rode the bus until they reached the dormitory.

Knock, knock, knock!

The door opened, "What do you want?"

"Flat Screen TV or else." Hotaru pointed her baka gun at Natsume.

"Tsch." Then he tried to burn the baka gun.

"It's no use. This thing is fire proof."

"Fine then." Natsume opened the door wider for them to be able to enter the room.

They entered the top star bedroom and grabbed all the food and all the comfortable seats they could find.

"Hurry. Channel 32, that's where they're premiering it." Hotaru looked for the remote under all the food and finally found it, "There you are!" She turned the TV on, sat back down on her seat and switched it to channel 32.

"There's the interview!" Ruka stared at the TV, "They're interviewing her? What for?"

"For the movie, stupid! Now shut up!" Hotaru stuffed a whole lot of pop corn into Ruka's mouth.

"Mmmmmmppphh!! Mmmph!!" He was finally able to swallow it but, "Choke Choke! Are you insane?!? You could've suffocated me!!"

"I told you to shut up." She stuffed some pop corn in her mouth and turned up the volume of the TV so she could hear better.

"But—!"

"You want the baka gun?" She loaded it up and got ready to shoot.

"Iie." Then Ruka sat silently on the floor and watched Mikan's interview.

"Good." She let go of it and started to eat.

"_**So Miss Sakura, how do you feel now that your movie is premiering all over the world, in four different languages?" The reporter asked the brunette. She had a person who understood both Japanese and English to translate the questions for her.**_

"_**Nervous, of course. I mean, who wouldn't be? The crew, I, and my co-actors and co-actresses have been working really hard on this movie, so we're all hoping that this movie would be great." Mikan walked towards the theater wherein she and everyone else would be watching their movie.**_

"_**It must've taken you guys a really long time to finish this movie, since they had to translate the whole movie in several languages."**_

"_**Yes, of course, it took about eight to ten months to finish filming the movie, and about a month or two to translate, put the special effects, and stuff like that."**_

"_**What made you decide to premiere the movie all over the world even on TV? Since usually, premieres are only shown in theaters."**_

"_**Well, I have my reasons. I bet there are a lot of people out there who won't be able to watch it because of big crowds around the cinemas." The pink shine of her lip-gloss sparkled as the thought of Hotaru and the rest of the gang came into her head.**_

"_**So are you excited about this?" The reporters asked once again, "I mean, since you've finished the movie, you're about to leave Hollywood and you'll be going back to Japan in a week, or so, right?"**_

Hotaru and Ruka who happened to be fighting over the last bit of chocolate on the table heard what the reporter said and listened closely to the interview.

"_**Well, I'd be leaving some of my friends here in the states, I was thinking of staying here a bit longer because of that."**_

This rather brought a small frown on Hotaru and Ruka's faces.

"_**But when I thought it over, I decided that since I haven't seen my best friends for more than a year, I decided to go back to Japan and stay there and finish my studies. And I just might come back here after I graduate High School or College there. I haven't thought of that yet though." She continued walking until she had reached her destination.**_

They smiled the moment they heard what she said.

"_**I guess you've reached the entrance of the theater, so would you like to say anything else to the camera before we end this interview?"**_

"_**Nothing really. I just want everyone to enjoy the movie. That's all. It'll start in 10 minutes, so better look for a good place to watch!" She smiled, and waved good-bye to the camera as she entered the building.**_

"Since the show is starting in ten minutes, there's a lot of time to wait." Hotaru looked at Natsume, "Natsume, she's coming back in a week, what are you going to do about Konaki?"

"What do you mean?" Natsume looked irritated.

"Natsume, you guys are pretty obvious, you know?" Hotaru said.

**In Central Town...**

"What the heck is this crowd for?" A pink-haired girl was going opposite of where the crowd was going as she looked for someone she could go to the amusement park with, "Anna-chan! Nonoko-chan! Ohayou! Do you want to come to the amusement park with me? I have four tickets, now we need one more." She looked around the crowd to see whom else they could go with.

"Sorry Konaki-chan." Anna interrupted.

"Doushite?"

"We can't go with you. We're going to watch Mikan-chan's movie in Central Town." Nonoko said, "But we promise to go with you afterwards, okay?"

"No need. I'll just go with Kinno." She smiled went her way to her brother's dormitory, '_Who's Mikan?_'

**In Natsume's Room...**

"What are you talking about?" Natsume continued reading his manga.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Natsume." Hotaru got the last piece of chocolate from the table and gobbled it all up, "Ruka and I heard you and Konaki doing and talking about fishy stuff a long time ago, and after that, you guys have been really close."

"Nani? It's not like I like her." He complained.

"Oh really? You treat her the same way you used to treat Mikan-chan." Ruka butted in.

"You too, Ruka?" He put his manga aside.

"Of course. I mean, you love Mikan-chan, Natsume." He looked at him worriedly, "And I just don't know what to do whenever I see you and Konaki-chan together."

**In Central Town...**

"Kinno! There you are. I've been looking for you." She ran towards a boy who looked like her.

"Oh, hi there, Konaki. What's up?"

"I wanna go to the amusement park, but no one would go with me! Hmph!" She crossed her arms over her chest, "So I was wondering that since even you don't know who that Mikan girl is and since us both aren't interested in watching her movie, let's go to the amusement park instead."

"Sure." He smiled at her as they both went to the amusement park.

"Hey, look! It's Yuu-kun and Koko-kun!" Konaki shouted, "Hi guys!"

"Hey. Aren't you guys going to watch Mikan's movie?" Koko asked.

"Who's Mikan?" Konaki asked back.

"Mikan, Mikan Sakura. Don't know?" Yuu said.

"Nope. Not a clue." Konaki answered.

"If I'm not mistaken, isn't she Imai-san's best friend who left about a year ago?" Kinno asked.

"Hai, that's right? How did you know?" Yuu asked.

"I hear her talking to Ruka-san about her a lot." Kinno stated.

"Oh, that's right, you guys only came to the academy 10 months ago, isn't that right?" Yuu asked.

"Yeah, that's right. And?" Konaki looked curious.

"Well, about a month or two before you guys arrived, Mikan-chan left Japan to go to Hollywood, since there were people from there who came here looking for great talent, and Mikan-chan happened to be the one they were looking for." Koko answered.

"Hey! Koko, we should get going if we don't want to miss the movie!" Yuu interrupted, "Gomen. We really need to go."

"Sure. No problem. Enjoy the movie." Kinno smiled.

"We'll catch you guys later." Koko waved and they ran to the bus stop and to their dorms.

_Flashback..._

_In the Alice Academy, a brunette suddenly flashed into Natsume's mind. It has been four months after Mikan left. And of course, he starts to miss the love of his life._

_He heads towards the classroom and slowly walks in and he takes his seat on the usual place, the back. He stays quiet, but not until Narumi introduces new students to them._

"_So class, we have a new student today. Actually two of them." Narumi calls the two students in and stood beside them, "Class, meet Hajiri Konaki and Hajiri Kinnosuke. As you see, they're twins. Why won't you guys introduce yourselves?"_

_The boy with red hair and dark light blue eyes smiled warmly at Narumi, "We'd be glad to, sir." He faced his classmates and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Kinnosuke Hajiri, but you can call me Kinno. I have the wind Alice, I hope to get to know more about you guys, and I hope to make lots of friends." He seemed nice and he acted nice towards them, but his sister seemed very different._

"_Okay, Kinno. You may sit beside our class president, since you're new and you'll need some assisting." Narumi suggested, "He can be your partner as well."_

"_No problem, Narumi-sensei." He smiled and sat beside Yuu, and they started to talk._

_The girl stood there with confidence, light reflected on her shiny, dark pink hair, and her dazzling, yet cold-looking dark blue eyes, "Well, me? I'm Konaki Hajiri."_

_Kinno sat down beside Yuu and smiled warmly at him, "Hi, nice to meet you. Yuu, right?"_

"_Yes. Nice to meet you too, Kinno-san." Yuu greeted back, "So what part of Japan are you guys from?"_

"_We're from Ochikawa, Tokyo. Not so far away." Kinno put his bag down and looked at Yuu, "Oh, by the way, please don't compare my sister with me. Both of us are very different, she could be a bit snobby at times. I mean, I can't say that I'm perfectly nice and all, but in the previous schools we've been to, everyone kept comparing my sister to me."_

"_Huh? Oh, sure, no problem." Yuu smiled, "But why compare you two? I mean, you two are practically alike."_

"_Oh, don't speak too soon." Kinno laughed, "The teachers and students at our previous schools kept telling her, 'Why can't you be like your brother Kinno? He's nicer and more respectful.' or 'Why don't you be like your brother? I mean, you're twins anyway, right? It wouldn't be so hard to follow his example of being serious with your studies.' and other stuff like that. I mean, I know we're twins but it isn't easy to be so alike with one another. I know she could be a bit snobby, disrespectful, rude and sometimes bad tempered, she's a really good person inside, you know? She just can't show it. And since we're twins, then I think I can feel what she feels when they say those things to her."_

"_Oh." Yuu laughed._

"_Well, my alice is hypnotizing. I can hypnotize anyone I want. But it would only be for that one thing that I want for that person. After I hypnotize that person, he or she will forget what happened five minutes before I hypnotized him or her. But once he or she is hypnotized, he or she wouldn't even give a single sign that they're hypnotized, they'd act normally, as if nothing had happened, they wouldn't even know that they got hypnotized. Nothing can break it, unless there's a person who has a power to cancel mine out. Sometimes, my eyes turn a weird color when I'm using my alice, but it doesn't always happen." She explained._

"_Very interesting Alice. Is there anything else you want to say?" Narumi asked._

"_All I want from this school is for no one to compare me to my brother, since that's what everyone usually does." Her face looked like she had no interest to smile at all, not really an emotionless face, but something like a permanent grouchy expression on it, "I was never interested in going here, but I always hated everyone comparing the two of us, so I thought this school might be different."_

_End of flashback..._

**Natsume's Room...**

"Tsch. I don't know what you guys are talking about." Natsume stood up and went towards the door, "Here's the key to my room, don't forget to lock the door when you're done using it, and don't forget to clean up your mess." He tossed them the key and walked out of the door.

"Natsume..." Ruka looked worried, he turned around to sit how he was sitting a while back, "Hey! Who ate the last piece of chocolate?!?"

"You're just too slow." Hotaru wiped the chocolate that was left on her face after she gobbled it all up.

"You're just a girl who knows nothing but evil." Ruka glared.

"Thanks for the compliment." She grabbed a can of soda from the table and drank from it.

**Outside Natsume's Room...**

"What's all that noise inside?" Koko and Yuu happened to be just passing by when they heard quarreling inside Natsume's room.

They peeped inside and saw an arguing couple.

"Why did you get it anyway?!?" The blonde-haired boy asked a cute raven-haired girl in front of him.

"I was hungry, and besides, if you wanted some, you could've asked, and I could've given you some." She continued drinking her soda.

"Yeah? You could have given me some? Riiiiiight! You would've just given me a tiny bit that I wouldn't even be able to taste it."

"You're a smart one Nogi."

The couple continued arguing until someone interrupted, "Hey, you guys invaded Natsume's room?"

"No, not really. He let us borrow it, actually." The Hotaru grabbed the cookie Ruka was about to take a bite of and ate it.

"Hey!"

"Mind if we join you watch Mikan's movie? I mean, Natsume has a flat screen TV, and I bet it would be better to watch it here than in Yuu's small eight inch TV, right? Haha!" Koko laughed and made himself comfortable inside.

"Hey!" Yuu just stood there by the door.

"Hurry, Yuu! It's starting!" Koko called him inside.

"Alright then. I guess this place would be comfortable enough." Yuu took a seat beside Koko and grabbed a bag of popcorn.

"Ssshh! It's starting." Ruka shushed the two new comers and watched the movie.

**After two hours...**

"Wow! That was great!" Koko jumped up and down Natsume's black leather couch, "Let's watch it again! Let's watch it again! Let's watch it again!"

"We'd love to, but we can't," Hotaru stuffed the pop corn in her mouth, "they're only showing it once. We'll have to wait for them to release VCD's or DVD's."

"That won't be long will it? Hahaha! Koko left the room in a rush.

"Why'd he leave so quick?" Yuu turned around to see the mess they were about to leave behind, "Oh, that's why."

Yuu slowly headed towards the door and opened it, then ran quickly just like Koko.

"Great, now we're left here to clean this all up." Hotaru started to pick up the scattered pop corn and the candy wrappers just when she noticed something.

Ruka tried to sneak out of the room without even helping her out, but then something grabbed the collar of his shirt, "Aaah!"

"Oh no you don't!" She pulled him towards the mess and forced him to help her clean.

"Why me? Why me?!"

"You're just very unlucky is all." Hotaru handed him a trash bag, "Here."

"_Sigh_ Doushite!?!?" He kept asking that same question until the room was spotless.

"Finally done." Hotaru walked towards the door, "Now, let's go."

"What time is it?" They left the room and locked it, "I have to be in Central Town at four o'clock."

"Well, then you better hurry up." Hotaru showed him her watch, "It's three thirty already."

"Okay then." Ruka walked away, "I guess I'll see you at dinner."

"No need, I won't be eating tonight." She turned around and walked towards her room.

"Okay then." Ruka exited the dorm and headed to the bus stop, '_Sometimes, I wonder why I even hang out with that psychotic girl. _'

"Anyway, I should hurry and buy Mikan a welcome back present before the store closes." He entered the bus and then finally arrived in Central Town.

"Where did I find that store again? Oh right." He went towards the department store and to the girls' section, "Here we go. Now I better hurry before anyone sees me here." He got a pink colored stuffed toy, paid for it and went to another shop.

After a short while, he was now holding a beautiful present, wrapped in a cute violet gift wrapper.

'_Natsume, what are you going to do now?_' Ruka looked worried, '_I just hope you'll find a way out of the mess you've gotten yourself into._'

_Flashback..._

_**8 months ago...**_

_A girl sat under the Sakura tree admiring the falling Sakura petals from the wonderful Sakura tree._

_A boy walked towards her, wondering why someone was sitting on the spot where he and a special someone of his used to sit all the time, "Hey, what are you doing here? You do know this is my spot." He said emphasizing the word 'my.'_

"_It's not yours, I don't see your name on it." She gave an irritated look, "Besides, no one owns it but the academy, so technically no one owns it."_

"_Sigh You know what? You remind me of someone I know. Only smarter. And she smiles a lot." Natsume chuckled._

"_I doubt." She frowned, "I can tell that you like this girl. Am I right?"_

_"I guess." Natsume smirked, "She's not here for now."_

"_Well, she's lucky to have someone like you, Natsume." She smiled._

_Natsume was shocked, she smiled, she barely smiles, "Well, if you're looking for someone who'll make you happy, then you're looking at the wrong guy." Natsume said angrily._

"_What are you talking about, Natsume?" Konaki smirked._

'_This girl's nuts.' Natsume complained, "Look, I'm taken, so you can't do anything about that."_

"_Really, Natsume-kun?" She walked closer to him, her eyes, "You said she isn't here for now, so she's probably forgotten about you already."_

"_No... She..." Natsume tried to resist but she was too strong for her, 'No, she's using her alice on me. Mikan, forgive me.' Then Natsume fainted._

_For the next few weeks, Natsume and Konaki grew closer to each other, they would be seen by their classmates under the Sakura tree sitting beside each other, sometimes embracing each other or sleeping on each others' shoulders._

_Heck, even Permy got scared of Konaki because of her alice. Everyone got scared of the couple, not exactly the couple, but Konaki, yes, she's become very nice now, she smiles more often, she got kinder, and she seldom shows that frown, but what they're scared of is if they get in the way of their relationship, she'd use her alice on them, which they all find scary. Hotaru isn't scared of her, but she had her reasons why she didn't say a thing._

_**Four months later...**_

_Kinno walked in the school hallways as he headed to the library. He walked silently until he bumped into a girl, which made her drop everything she was holding, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."_

"_Oh, hi Kinno." She gave him a warm smile as she got the books from Kinno, "Sorry for running into you like that. I'm in a hurry, I need to see Natsume-kun."_

"_No problem," he handed her the books and smiled, "See you around then."_

"_Sure thing. Bye."_

'_Konaki. I'm glad these people have changed you. Especially Natsume.'_

_**That afternoon...**_

_Ruka was walking alone in the silent hallways of the Gakuen Alice dormitory, but then heard something from outside the window, "What's that?" He looked outside and saw his best friend sitting under a tree with a girl, "That's Natsume. And who's that?" He couldn't see the girl because she happened to be facing away, all he could see was the wavy pink hair._

_When the girl turned, he saw her, "Konaki?"_

_Konaki walked closer to Natsume and whispered something in his ear._

"_Natsume, what's happening to you? I thought you loved Mikan-chan?" Ruka asked himself._

_He continued watching the couple and then, shocked, Ruka saw something he didn't have to see. Konaki's eyes turned yellow all of a sudden._

"_No. Now I know why Natsume's doing all this." Ruka looked shocked, "Oh my gosh! I need to tell Hotaru!!" He ran as fast as he could to Hotaru's room._

"_Hotaru!! HOTARU!! Open up!!" Ruka banged on her door._

"_What is it?! I'm working on my science project?" Hotaru asked through the door.._

"_You've gotta let me in! I have something important to tell you!"_

_Hotaru opened the door and looked at the tired Ruka in front of her, "Fine. But make it quick."_

_He entered the room and started to talk, "Konaki! And... Natsume!"_

"_What about them?"_

"_Konaki! Hypnotizing Natsume!" Ruka couldn't talk straight because of his panting._

"_I know."_

"_You know?!? You KNOW?!?!?!? The why didn't you do anything about it? You didn't even bother telling me?!?"_

"_Yes. I knew. I didn't say a thing because I knew that this could be fixed."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Remember when Konaki said that nothing can break it unless someone has the power to cancel out hers?"_

"_Yeah. So?"_

"_Mikan has a strong nullification Alice. She'll be able to handle this."_

"_Whatever you say."_

_End of Flashback..._

**With Hotaru...**

"One week left, and Mikan's coming back."

**One week later...**

A limo arrived at the academy, and the first one you'd see to come out is a beautiful brunette.

"Miss Sakura, let me take your bags, I'll bring them to your room for you." A boy offered, "So that you can see your friends."

"Thanks Touya." Mikan smiled, "So I'll go ahead then?"

"Sure. After we drop your things off, we'll be at the guest rooms. Just look for us there if you need us." He took her bags and gave Mikan her cell phone, "We'll be staying here until tomorrow for a meeting with the headmasters and some of your teachers, but after that we'll be going back to the states."

"Okay. I'll see you guys off tomorrow then."

"Sure. Now go ahead. I bet you're excited to see your friends already."

"Thanks again, Touya." Mikan smiled and ran towards the elementary building holding a present wrapped in a red gift wrapper.

She entered the building and asked the office where Youichi's classroom was. The secretary welcomed Mikan back as Mikan headed to You-chan's classroom.

She stood there by the door and a girl about Youichi's age saw her, "Ah! It's Mikan-neechan!!" She ran to her and greeted her, "You-chan!! It's your mommy!!"

"Huh?" Youichi turned around and saw her smiling at him by the door, "Mikan!" He ran to her and hugged her as if he was back to being a pre-schooler.

The teacher smiled at them and Mikan noticed, "Ah, Gomennasai Serina-sensei. But may I borrow You-chan for a while?"

"No problem." She smiled.

"You-chan, you want to came see Bear-san with me?" Mikan smiled.

"Hai!"

**Northern Forest...**

Mikan and Youichi walked to Bear-san's house, "There!" Youichi pulled her there.

"Bear-san! Bear-san! Are you home?" Mikan asked out loud.

The door opened and Mikan saw a cute bear staring at her.

"Bear-san! Long time no see!" She ran towards him getting ready to hug. Mr. Bear held up a sign saying, 'Here's my welcome back present to you.' A quick 'POW!' and Mikan flew high up in the sky.

"Waaaaahhh!!! Bear-san!!" Waterfall tears flew out her eyes.

**Back in the elementary building...**

"Well, you better go back to class now, You-chan." Mikan grinned, "I'll see you at lunch."

"Okay." Then he ran back to his classroom.

Mikan went to the High School building next, '_I want to see Hotaru and the others at lunch, so I could surprise Natsume with his gift._'

Mikan, again, went to the office and asked for Tsubasa, Misaki and Kaname's classroom. She went there and peeked through the door.

"Hey look! It's Mikan!!" Misaki shouted as she saw Mikan by the door, "May I, Tsubasa and Kaname be excused, Misaki-sensei?"

Mr. Misaki looked at the door and saw Mikan, he smiled as he saw Mikan sweat drop [anime style, "Okay then, but make it quick."

"Thank you sensei!" The three stood up and went out of the room to see Mikan.

**Outside their classroom...**

"So, how's it been Mikan?" Tsubasa asked.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Mikan answered, "I think it should be me asking that question!"

"Well, we're all fine." Kaname answered.

"Well then, that's great!"

"We have to get back in there, Misaki-sensei might scold us. So where are you headed next?" Misaki asked.

"Well, I'm going to the middle school building to see my friends there. And also give Hotaru her present, since I missed her birthday. Wanna come?"

"We'd love to Mikan. But we have a project to finish. We'll catch up later." Kaname said.

"Oh, ok. No problem. Bye then. Catch you guys later."

"Is that the gift, Mikan?" Misaki asked pointing at the red box on Mikan's hand.

"Oh, no. This isn't Hotaru's. Hers is in my pocket. This is Natsume's" She smiled, "It's November 27. Didn't you know? It's his birthday today."

"Oh, okay. See you around then." Said Tsubasa.

Since it wasn't their lunch yet, Mikan decided to go to the Sakura tree, "Let's see. I'll go see Hotaru first and she'll probably be with Yuu and Ruka. Then I'll go see Anna, Nonoko, Koko, Sumire and Mochu. Then a bunch of other friends. Then Natsume will be the last."

**In the classroom...**

Konaki sat beside the window, so she could perfectly see the Sakura Tree from there. She was looking at the sky then her eyes moved to look at a certain brunette sitting under the Sakura tree, '_Who is that? Cutting classes? Who does she think she is?! That's mine and Natsume's Sakura tree. How dare she?! Ever since me and Natsume became an item, no one ever dared to go near that tree except for the two of us. Well, I guess we'll fix that during lunch when I see her._'

**Back to Mikan...**

_Riiiiiing..._

"Lunch time! Now I could see them!" Mikan stood up from her position and ran to the cafeteria.

Konaki went straight to the Sakura tree and found no one there, "Darn it!"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Natsume walked there finding a troubled Konaki.

"Someone was sitting here right before lunch, but she left before I could even see her face."

"Nah. I bet it was nothing." Natsume smirked, "Aren't you going to eat lunch?" He sat down and brought out his manga.

"No. I'm not hungry." She sat down beside him and lay her head down his shoulder, and he didn't even seem to mind.

In the cafeteria where almost everyone was, Mikan searched for her friends through the crowd, "Ah! There! Hotaru! Ruka! Yuu! Over here!"

"Hey look! It's Mikan! Hi Mikan!" Ruka shouted.

Mikan pointed to the garden close to the cafeteria, signaling them to go there.

They ate their lunch there, while Mikan watched them there, "Man! I miss how the food tastes here. And I miss Japanese food."

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ruka and Yuu asked.

"No. We ate lunch when we arrived." Mikan smiled, "Thanks for the offer though."

"Mikan!!" A girl from behind shouted, "Look guys!! It's Mikan!! Hi Mikan!!"

"Anna!! Nonoko!! Mochu!! Koko!! Sumire!!"

"Wow Mikan!! We missed you!!"

"_Gasp!_ And you're not wearing pigtails!!" Nonoko shouted, "You look a lot prettier without them, Mikan! You should wear your hair like this more often."

"Thanks. Haha! I missed you guys too." Mikan smiled.

Now they were all crowding her.

**After 20 minutes of catching up...**

"Oh, guys. Lunch is almost over." Mikan stood up, "I have to go see Natsume and give him his birthday present!"

"Wow. At least you still remember, Mikan." Sumire smiled.

"Okay. Well, I guess I better get going." Mikan got ready to leave but then remembered something, "Don't you have a gift for him, Sumire?"

"Oh, me? No." Sumire sweat dropped.

"Why not?" Mikan looked confused.

"Well, let's just say I have my reasons." Sumire frowned, '_I have one, but I'm too scared to give it. That psychotic girl might kill me. I'm worried about Mikan, though. Konaki might yell at her._' She thought, "Are you sure, Mikan? Don't you just want to stay and do some more catching up with us? I mean, who knows what'll happen there?"

"What do you mean? I have to give Natsume his gift." Mikan said, "Come on, I'm not leaving again or anything, right? You're talking like you don't want me to go near Natsume. Haha!"

"Haha! Yeah, Sumire, don't say that." Said Nonoko, '_But really, Mikan. You shouldn't see him. You'll just and up being hurt._'

"Anyway, I have to get going. See you guys later." Mikan skipped happily towards the Sakura tree.

As soon as Mikan turned her back, all their smiles turned to worried frowns, "I'm going to see how it goes." Hotaru said worriedly and ran after Mikan.

"I need to see it too." Ruka followed.

"She's my friend, I'll be there for her." Anna stood up and followed and Nonoko followed her, "I agree."

"Mikan doesn't deserve this. I'm going to see how she reacts and whatever Konaki does to her, I'll be there for Mikan." Yuu stood up and ran after them.

"Me too."

"Me too." And the rest followed.

**Sakura Tree...**

Mikan walks to the Sakura tree and sees someone sitting there, "It's Natsume!" She whispered to herself. What she didn't know was that all her friends were following her.

She sneaked up from behind Natsume, but did not see that he was with someone, he was sitting on the ground, but not reading his manga, '_If he's not reading his manga, then what could he be doing?_'

Mikan jumped out from behind the tree and grinned at Natsume, "Happy Birthday, Natsume! Here's your—" Mikan could barely breathe because of what she saw. A couple kissing in front of her. The couple stopped kissing and stared straight at her, '_Am I talking to the wrong person? No... This really is..._'

"Natsume..." tears fell out from her eyes as her heart shattered to pieces.

"Mikan?" Natsume spoke silently.

"Natsume! That's the girl who was sitting here a while ago! She was sitting on OUR spot!" Konaki stood up angrily.

"YOUR spot?!" Mikan asked, "Natsume what is she talking about?" More tears flowed out of her eyes as she felt the pieces of her heart shatter to smaller pieces.

"Mikan...!" Natsume then felt something weird in his head, "Aaahh!! My head!" Then it was all gone. He felt someone clinging onto his arm and saw Konaki beside him, "Get off me!"

"What?! So now you're pretending that you don't like her just because I'm here already?!" Mikan cried even more, "Get a life, Natsume! And to think that you're my boyfriend?! It's over, Natsume!" Mikan ran away as fast as she could.

Konaki couldn't believe what she heard, '_Boyfriend? What have I done?_'

"Mikan, wait!" Natsume ran after her leaving Konaki behind. He grabbed Mikan's arm and forced her to turn around.

"Let go of me! If you want your gift, then here!" Mikan threw the box at him and tried to run away again, but she failed, "What do you want?! You've got her don't you?! So why do you need me?!"

"Mikan, listen! I don't love her! She—" Natsume tried to explain but Mikan was just too stubborn.

"I don't want to hear it! You're a jerk Natsume!" Mikan finally got away from Natsume's grip on her arm.

But before she ran away, she turned around, "Here's something that comes with that gift." She slapped him hard on his left cheek and ran to her room.

All Mikan's friends walked passed Natsume and looked at him with disappointed looks, even Sumire. He looked at them, but couldn't show any emotion because of what happened. He stood up and ran to his room with tears in his eyes.

**In Mikan's room...**

"Mikan, let us in." Hotaru knocked on Mikan's door, and all of Mikan's other friends behind her.

Mikan opened the door and let everyone in, all her friends, Hotaru, Ruka, Anna, Nonoko, Yuu, Kokoroyumi, Mochu, Sumire, Tsubasa, Misaki, Youichi, even Mr. Bear was there with Narumi. Mikan was lying on her bed with a pillow on her face, crying her eyes out.

"Mikan, are you okay?" Anna asked.

"No, I'm not!! He's a jerk! I come back from another country after less than a year and that's what he gives me?!" Mikan cried, "I was supposed to come back after one more month, but I told them that I wanted to come back earlier, just so I wouldn't miss Natsume's birthday! And now this is what I get?! I hate him!"

**Several hours passed...**

"Easy now, Mikan." Narumi comforted her, "Maybe he's just not the right one for you. That happens a lot."

"Yeah. Sure it does." Mikan said sarcastically.

"But if he really is the right one for you, then you'll just have to wait and see if everything turns out okay." Narumi continued.

"Oh." Mikan slowly stopped crying, "But wait. Is it right to actually take advice from your gay class adviser?" Everyone laughed after hearing this from Mikan.

"Gay?!" Narumi looked dumbfounded, "Well then, I guess I better get going. I have a meeting with the headmasters." Then he left the room, still concerned about Mikan's condition.

"Well Mikan, it's getting late. We should go get some dinner." Ruka suggested.

"No thanks. I'm not hungry." Mikan sat on her bed, "You guys can go ahead. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Okay then. See you, Mikan." Then they all left the room and shut the door for her.

"Natsume..." The thought of him made Mikan cry once again.

**End of Chapter **

Well, guys... wanna know what happens next? I'll tell you...

...In the next chapter!! Haha!

Anyway, sorry for some OOCness... I have my reasons for doing that...! And sorry if this chapter [and so with the rest is corny and stuff... I just don't know how to improve them... Sorry... _Sweat drop_

Well, I have to update this thing quick and review for my exams... So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

You see that button on the screen? You know? The one that says "GO"? You don't have to click the arrow and stuff... just click the "GO" button and I'll love you for that. ;)

Flames are accepted...! ;)

Ridley


	5. Pen Pal

A/N: I think you all know why I haven't updated for so long. School is EVIL!!! Grrrr… Anyways… Thank you for all the reviews.

**Chapter 5: Pen pal**

Mikan woke up to the sound of a pretty white dove chirping outside her window with a piece of paper in its beak. Her eyes were still puffy from crying the whole night. "What's that?" She walked towards the window, opened it and took the piece of paper from the dove. "I wonder if Ruka sent it." The dove flew away right before she shut the window closed.

She read the note, it said: "_Hi, Mikan. I hope you're alright. Well, see you in class._"

"Hm? This is… weird. Ruka can be so odd at times." Mikan muttered to herself, she looked at the clock, 6:30 AM, "I'm early today."

She took a shower, changed to her uniform, then headed to the Sakura tree.

She looked at the letter once more as she sat under the tree, "Is this really from Ruka? It doesn't look like his handwriting."

She tilted her head up for a while so she could look at the beautiful clouds before the sun completely comes out, but someone blocked her view. She looked straight to see what or who it was.

It happened to be a who. It was a dark haired boy with cold ruby eyes. "Oh." Mikan, disappointed, stood up, dusted her skirt and made her way to the classroom.

Natsume just stared at her running as if being chased away by someone. "Mikan" he whispered to himself, once again, feeling the loneliness he felt before Mikan had come into his life. He missed the wonderful atmosphere which used to always surround him, it was now gone, it was his entire fault. That's what he thought anyway.

**In the classroom...**

Mikan sat down on her chair, thinking about the letter. She looked under her desk and found another piece of paper. It was another letter. It read: "_So, are you okay now? I hope so. I've been thinking... Do you want to be my pen pal? If so, just leave a letter under the lockers in your classroom. Don't worry, no one will see it. Trust me. –Secret Boy_"

"Pen pal? I guess that'll work. I'm kind of in need of a friend right now." Mikan smiled to herself. She took out a piece of purple paper, and wrote on it with a pink pen: "_Dear secret boy,_ _sure, I'd love to be your pen pal. :) Do you know what happened to me lately? I think you do. Judging by what you said in those letters. Anyway, I'm guessing it was you who sent the dove this morning. Thank you. –Rockstar._"

"What's that?" A cold voice came from behind her asked.

"Oh. Hi Hotaru." She smiled, "It's a letter I received this morning." She showed her the first one, "And this one is a letter I found under my desk, just now."

"Who's it from?" She asked.

"I don't know. But he's asking me to be his pen pal. And I said yes." Mikan put the letters in her bag, and brought out the books she needed for the first period.

"Okay. But I suggest you be careful. That person could be anyone." Hotaru looked at the door behind her where a blonde boy entered.

"Hey, what's up?" Ruka looked at them, "did I miss anything?"

"Nope." The two girls said in unison as Mikan continued to fix her things, while Hotaru sat on her seat and read a book.

After half an hour, the classroom was filled with students making noise, most of them greeting Mikan. They welcomed her back to Alice Academy after a year of being in Hollywood. They all asked her if she met other popular celebrities, if she met cute guys there. But Mikan never really paid attention to their questions.

She took a glance at Natsume whose eyes were stuck on his manga, as always. '_I wonder... why did he do this to me? Did he think that I've forgotten all about him when I left? Or was I just not good enough for him? I mean, it's not surprising, Konaki __**is**__ much prettier than I am. Her alice is way better. She's not stupid like I am. And I bet people like her more than they like me. She's not annoying and noisy, like I am._'

Natsume felt like someone was looking at him, so he looked away from his manga and looked around. He saw Mikan staring at him, he was feeling guilty.

Mikan looked away as soon as her eyes locked with Natsume's.

"Hey, Mikan." Yuu called from behind.

"Hello, Yuu." She smiled back.

"I see, I don't need to help you up today." Yuu laughed, "Why isn't Hotaru hitting you?"

"Wow, that sounded like you wanted her to hit me." Mikan laughed, "But, I got here earlier than she did. And I think I was caught up with something, that's why I didn't have the urge to hug her today."

Hotaru looked at her.

Mikan looked at Hotaru "But I still love you, Hotaru!!"

"Don't say that in public." Hotaru looked away before giving Mikan a hit from the horseshoe glove.

"Ooooooowwww!!!! Hotaru!!!" Mikan rubbed her head.

Mikan's head turned as soon as she saw a red haired boy enter the classroom. He sat down on his seat beside Yuu.

"Hi Kinno." Yuu greeted.

"Hi Yuu." He greeted back with a smile, and then he looked at Mikan, "Oh, Mikan. Sorry about my sister."

"Who?" Mikan asked, "Sorry, I just arrived, you see. So..."

"No problem. I don't even think you know me yet either." Kinno smiled, "I'm Hajiri Kinnosuke. But you can just call me Kinno. Hajiri Konaki is my twin sister. I heard what happened yesterday. I'm really sorry."

"Oh, no problem." Mikan faked her smile, "That was nothing. Trust me, I've been to worse situations."

"Okay, then. But I'm guessing we're friends now. So just come talk to me whenever you want to. Don't worry. You can trust me." He smiled, and then turned around to talk to someone else.

'_Those words. They sound familiar._' Mikan thought, remembering the letter, '_I bet it's just coincidence._' She smiled to herself.

Narumi entered the classroom and welcomed Mikan back as the students settled down for the first period.

**After Class...**

(Sorry... I'm rushing the story... I promise I'll never do it again.)

Mikan, Hotaru, Ruka and Yuu were walking around Central Town to celebrate Mikan's arrival, since they couldn't celebrate it yesterday.

"Let's buy Howalons!!" Mikan shouted in delight, "Come on!! I miss those things!! PLEASE?!?"

"Sure, let's go then." Yuu said.

But when they got there: "_SOLD OUT._"

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Mikan sobbed until she found herself lying on the ground, as if about to die.

"You wanted Howalons?" A boy walked towards their direction.

"Hi Kinno." Yuu greeted.

"KINNO!!" Mikan screamed, "YES!!! I WANT and NEED Howalons!!"

Kinno brought out a box from his back pack and opened it. "Here."

"HOWALONS!!!" Mikan grabbed one from the box and ate it slowly, savoring its precious sweetness.

They each had one for themselves, and Kinno put the box back in his bag, not wanting to waste the Howalons that were left.

"Kinno! What do you think you're doing with _that_ girl and her friends?" a voice shouted angrily from behind them.

"Konaki? I thought you were doing your homework?" Kinno asked. Mikan looked away, not wanting to see the girl before her eyes.

"Don't change the subject, you goody two shoes!! And you," She pointed at Mikan, "Why are you acting like nothing happened?"

Mikan looked at her, '_Don't show her that you're weak, Mikan._' She thought to herself, "I did nothing to you, Konaki. Why are you so mad at me?"

"Because you're trying to steal my Natsume away from me." She exclaimed, "Don't act like you don't know."

"Stealing him away from you?" Tears forced their way out of her eyes, "But I never did anything."

"You're just saying that!! Stupid girl!!" Konaki was making Mikan and her friends angry, "Face it! Natsume likes me better!!" She exclaimed, "You're nothing to him now! Soon, you'll see that he'll forget everything about you, and start to fall for me again! Just wait and see."

"She doesn't care about what you say! Mikan loves Natsume, you can't do anything about that." Hotaru said.

"Hotaru. I think she's right. She's better of with Natsume than I am." Mikan cried and fell to the ground.

"Loser." Konaki walked away. But she stopped dead in her tracks as someone called from behind.

"Hey," a cold voice called as it started to rain, "What do you guys think you're talking about?"

Mikan's crying stopped for a while with the sight of the boy standing before them.

It was Natsume.

**End of Chapter**

Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! It sucks!!! Anyway... reviews, flames, comments, suggestions, criticisms... Whatever!! Everything is accepted!!!

I might update late again for the next chapter. Sorry.


	6. Valentine's Ball? Part 1

A/N: So... I think I'm still not updating on time. :) Well, here's chapter 6!!!

**Chapter 6: Valentine's Ball? – Part 1**

"Hotaru. I think she's right. She's better of with Natsume than I am." Mikan cried and fell to the ground.

"Loser." Konaki walked away. But she stopped dead in her tracks as someone called from behind.

"Hey," a cold voice called as it started to rain, "What do you guys think you're talking about?"

Mikan's crying stopped for a while with the sight of the boy standing before them.

It was Natsume.

"I don't remember saying such thing." He walked closer to them, "Look Mikan." He knelt down beside her and held her arm, "Mikan, I'm—"

"Don't even bother!!" Mikan pushed him away and ran to the bus stop.

They all just watched her running away. "See Natsume. I'm better than her, aren't I?" She put her face closer to Natsume's, close enough so no one could see what she did. Her eyes changed color, just like before.

Everyone was looking at the direction Mikan ran to. Hotaru and Yuu followed Mikan, while Ruka and Kinno stayed in case something else happens.

Natsume's head hurt a bit, same as before, "I... I guess you're right." But it wasn't only Natsume, Kinno and Ruka's head also hurt for some weird unknown reason.

She smirked at this, '_See Sakura. I told you, he'll fall for me all over again. And that he'll forget everything about you sooner or later. By tomorrow, he'll forget that you even existed.'_

"Come on, Konaki. Let's go back to the Dormitory." Natsume held her hand and they walked away, "Sorry about yesterday I have no idea what had gotten into me." He smiled.

"It's okay Natsume." She kissed him on the cheek as they waited for a bus to arrive.

"That's weird." Ruka muttered.

"Why?" Kinno asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Natsume." Ruka answered, "He never called any girl with her first name except for Mikan. And..."

"And what?" Kinno asked once more.

"He never" Ruka stammered, "smiled at anyone, but me, Youichi and... Mikan."

"That's weird." Kinno guessed.

"What's her alice again?" Ruka asked.

"I... I think..." Kinno thought hard trying to remember Konaki's alice, "I don't know."

**Back at the Academy**

Mikan ran to her room and locked the door behind her hoping that no one would follow her in. She took a pen and a piece of paper from her drawer and wrote to her pen pal, '_Dear Secret Boy, I need someone right now. Natsume's acting so weird, I have no idea what's happening. Yuu and Hotaru can help too, but they'd never understand. Pen pal, have you ever fallen in love? I bet you have. But have you tried falling in love and then having your heart broken just when you thought everything was going so great? Well, that's what's happening to me right now. Natsume and I were doing just fine. But now, I have no idea what's wrong. Pen pal, please help. You're the only one who can help me right now. Love, Rockstar._'

After Mikan wrote the letter, she covered her face with her pillow as tears flowed from her beautiful chocolate pools. She looked out the window drying her eyes to see the wonderful view of the Academy Garden behind the girls' dormitory. She sat on the window sill and just watched the little kids playing 'tag' happily, she saw couples holding hands with huge smiles on their faces, she could even spot a high school boy picking flowers and giving them to a girl. They all seemed so happy.

Now all Mikan could wish for was for all her troubles to just leave her side so she could be as happy as those people outside her window. If possible, happier than anyone in the world. If only it was possible that she'd make everything better with a snap and enjoy the rest of her life without anything to worry about. If only she wasn't chosen for that stupid Hollywood thing, Natsume wouldn't have been taken away from her. She wanted a normal life. Better yet, if only she didn't fall in love with Natsume, this wouldn't be happening to her, she wouldn't have to worry about love anymore.

She wanted an 'anti-problematic' life. If only all those things were possible. If only... If, if, if. That was all she could think about right now. Was there even anything she was contented with right now? If it wasn't for Hotaru, Ruka, Yuu, Youichi, Kinno, her pen pal, and all her other friends, her life would be worse than the life of someone who didn't even have one.

Someone knocked on her door the moment her face was all wet with tears, "Mikan, are you there? It's Hotaru and Yuu, we just want to talk to you." A said from outside.

Mikan kept quiet, not wanting them to know that she was inside. She just wanted to be alone for now.

"Mikan? Are you there?" Hotaru asked. And again, silence.

"I don't think she is. Maybe she's somewhere else. Let's try the Sakura tree or the lake by the garden." Mikan heard Yuu through the thick wooden door of her room.

**With Hotaru and Yuu**

"Can I ask you something?" Yuu looked at Hotaru with a worried face.

"Okay, what?"

"Why don't you tell Mikan?"

"Tell her what?"

"About what Konaki's doing to Natsume. Why don't we tell her? She's getting hurt, we know why, but we're not telling her anything, I just feel like it's so wrong." They continued walking. They reached the Sakura tree, no sight of Mikan.

"She's not here." Hotaru turned around, and Yuu followed her, "The reason why we're not telling her is because we're all growing up. And she is too. We can't just let her depend on us every time. She has to learn to figure things out on her own. She has to learn to take care of herself and not to depend on others too much."

"Okay then. But can't we at least tell her _that_?" Yuu asked once more.

"No. She has to find out on her own." Hotaru continued, "Mikan may not be a smart girl, but she's wise. There's a big difference. If she just opens her eyes, she'll know."

"If you say so." Yuu walked behind Hotaru, still worried about Mikan. Thinking that of all times to teach her a lesson of relying on herself more often, why now? Why now when she's in need the most? He just couldn't understand Hotaru sometimes. No one ever does. But he trusted Hotaru because every time she said things like this, she was always right. So all he could do now was trust her and wait for what was going to happen.

**A Few Months Later**

A few months had passed since Mikan had that encounter with Natsume and Konaki. With the help of her pen pal, she's partly over it. But not quite, she still had feelings for Natsume, maybe not as much as before, but like when they first met. Just like having a crush on someone when you were elementary. It was simple. She didn't love him as much as before. She just had this feeling whenever she saw him, or heard his voice.

Natsume on the other hand, felt what Mikan felt, but just couldn't realize it. He was too drowned in Konaki's spell.

Kinno felt worried, since the incident in Central Town, he's been forgetting things once in a while. So did Ruka. They both felt like something wrong was happening, but just couldn't figure out what it was.

Yuu did a little research just to make sure nothing happened to Mikan. He tried to figure out what Konaki's powers really do. He found out about the side effects that Konaki didn't know of. When Konaki hypnotizes someone, they stay under her spell for at least ten days if not stopped. And if the spell is cast for too many times, personality changes may happen to the person under the spell, depending on their personality.

Yuu thought that since every time Natsume is near Mikan, Mikan subconsciously nullifies the spell, therefore forcing Konaki to hypnotize Natsume again. If this is done for too many times, something might happen to Natsume. This made him worry even more.

Hotaru was in her lab getting ready for no-one-knows-what. She went there to her lab every afternoon and didn't come out until dinner, then goes back in right after she eats without saying a thing to anyone.

In the classroom, everyone was making so much noise, as if they were excited for something. But Mikan was clueless. She went around asking people what was going on, but they were all too busy talking to one another.

She spotted Hotaru who was working on something and decided to ask her, "Hotaru! Good morning!" She smiled warmly.

No reaction. "Hotaru, why is everyone so noisy? What are they so excited about?" She sat beside her best friend eager to hear an answer come out of her mouth. Once again, no reaction. Hotaru continued to work on the contraption in front of her.

"Hmph!" Mikan looked away, sensed that she was unwanted there, so she walked away and looked for someone else to ask. Anna and Nonoko were seated on the teacher's table.

Mikan walked towards them and overheard Nonoko saying "So who are you asking out?"

"Who's asking who out?" Mikan popped out from behind them curious about everything everyone was talking about.

"You don't know?" Anna asked, "The Valentine's ball is two days away." Anna smiled.

"Valentine's ball? So is it like a prom where guys ask girls out? Or does this school have something crazy with this event too?" Mikan asked, a sweat drop falling from her head, "Please tell me this has nothing to do with 'If you dance with someone, you will be together forever!' or something psychotic like 'if you kiss your one true love at exactly ten forty-one PM and 39 seconds you will stay in love for the rest of your life!' or… or…"

"Chill, Mikan!" Nonoko laughed, "Nothing's crazy about this one."

"It's just normal Valentine's day, where girls offer things to the boys they like." Anna smiled, "No kissing, and you don't _have_ to dance."

"Good. Haha!" Mikan gave a sigh of relief, "But why only girls? What about the guys?"

"Valentine's day is when girls give guys gifts." Nonoko explained, "But there's one event not everyone celebrates. White day. It's when they _guys_, give the _girls_ gifts in return for Valentine's day."

"In most places, they put Valentine's day and White day together, and it's just plain Valentine's day. But here in the Alice Academy, we celebrate it separately like how it's supposed to be." Anna continued.

"Oh. Does _everyone_ have to ask someone out on that day?" Mikan frowned.

"Not really. But on that _night,_ girls have to ask at least one guy out." Nonoko smirked.

"What? Then who do you expect me to ask?" Mikan frowned even more.

"I don't know. Natsu—" Nonoko's hand covered Anna's mouth to prevent her from saying his name.

"You know your pen pal? Why don't you guys meet up during the ball, then he can be your date." Nonoko giggled. She glared at Anna who had an apologizing look in her eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe I won't go." Mikan pouted, "I bet I won't be in the mood to even think about it." Mikan walked away. She looked back and faked a smile, "Thanks for telling me anyway, guys."

"See what you did?!?" Nonoko scolded Anna.

"Sorry!!" She sweat dropped.

**That Afternoon…**

The bell just rang and the students were all required to stay inside their classrooms for their advisers to talk to them about the Valentine's ball.

Narumi explained everything to them, same way Anna and Nonoko explained it to Mikan, "Anymore questions?"

"What are we supposed to wear? It's last minute and it's tomorrow night already." A student asked politely.

"We will provide your gowns and suits, except unlike the last dance, you will be having different colors and designs, it's first come first serve, you will be choosing your clothes tomorrow afternoon." Narumi smiled.

A student raised his hand, Narumi motioned for him to just ask ahead, "What if we guys don't get dates because no one wants to ask us?"

"Don't worry. We assure you everyone will be having dates."

"Except me." Mikan whispered to herself.

"Pardon?" Her seatmate asked.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry." Mikan smiled.

**After Class…**

"So who are you asking, Mikan?" Yuu asked while walking alongside of her.

"No one." Mikan frowned.

"Why not? But every girl is supposed to ask someone."

"Well, not me. Why start shi Valentine thing now anyway? We didn't have this before!" Mikan was now fierce, feeling as if the world was picking on her. As if she was being tortured.

"It doesn't come every year. It's every after fourteen years. Since Valentine's day is on the fourteenth—"

"I get it!!" Mikan was now angry, "But why does it have to be now? Now that I'm heart broken and falling apart! It's just so wrong!!" Mikan tears started to fall.

Yuu was speechless. He didn't know what to say.

"I'm, so sorry, Yuu." Mikan wiped her tears away, "I've just tried for so long to be strong. But it just all burst out today. I have no idea why." Mikan's eyes fell to the ground, she felt guilty for acting like that, "Sorry, I'm such a brat. I have to go." She ran away real quickly before Yuu could even say anything.

"Mikan… I'm sorry…" He felt guilty as well. For hiding everything from his friend.

**In Mikan's Room…**

"This is all so stupid and unfair!" Mikan cried her eyes out, "Maybe I _will_ ask my pen pal."

She got a piece of paper and a pink pen and started to write, "_Dear Secret Boy…_"

**To Be Continued…**

Weeee!!! Tell me how it is!! Flames are accepted. Sorry if it sucks. Sorry if you don't like it. And sorry if it's rushed. Anyway, please leave reviews. [Sorry also for some typos if ever there are any.


	7. Valentine's Ball? Part 2

A/N: Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's chapter 7, I hope you all enjoy it as well. Happy Valentine's Day! **02/14/08**

**Chapter 7: Valentine's Ball-Part 2**

"This is all so stupid and unfair!" Mikan cried her eyes out, "Maybe I _will_ ask my pen pal."

She got a piece of paper and a pink pen and started to write, "_Dear Secret Boy…_"

**With Hotaru**

"Yuu, where's Mikan?" Hotaru asked worriedly.

"She ran off somewhere after class." Yuu looked guilty, "I think we should tell her."

"No." Hotaru turned around and walked out of the dining hall, "Like I told you, she has to learn not to be so dependent all the time." She continued to walk and headed to the Sakura tree, Mikan might have been there.

"Oh, Hotaru..." Yuu continued eating his dinner, "Of all times to teach her a lesson, why now?"

**Back in Mikan's Room**

Mikan finished her letter and felt a little happier and relieved after that. She felt as if there was finally someone who would understand her. Or at least someone she could really talk to.

She reread her letter just to make sure that she didn't state anything wrong, it read:

"_Dear Secret Boy,_

_How are you? Well, don't ask about me. I've been through too much for one day. I don't know what to do. I thought I was finally able to let go of Natsume and live a happy life. Well, I was wrong. It's the stupid Valentine's ball's fault. :(_

_They said a girl should ask a guy instead of the boy asking the girl out. I find it weird, you know? I think it should've been the other way around._

_Well, since I have no one to ask ( Natsume will probably be asked by Konaki, Ruka will be asked by Hotaru, Yuu will be asked by Ana, Koko will probably go with Nonoko and my last choice is Kinno. But he's popular now, and he's pretty good-looking too, so I bet there are a lot of girls out there who would want to go with him), I decided to ask you. If you have no date yet, that is. I hope not._

_Well, if you decide to go with me too, just leave the letter anywhere you think I'd be able to find it. Since you know me. And since I don't know you, I want to meet you in the Valentine's Ball. I hope you're fine with that._

_So until next time. Write back as soon as possible. -Rockstar_"

Mikan looked at her clock and realized it was so late already, it was 10:20 PM, "What have I been doing? Does time really fly _that_ fast?" She put her jacket and her rubber shoes on, not minding the fact that she was in her pajamas. She went out of her room, but before going out of the dorms, she stopped by Nonoko's room.

_Knock, knock_

"Huh? Mikan? What are you doing here?" She yawned, and judging by her looks, Mikan woke her up.

"Did I wake you? If I did, I'm sorry." Mikan smiled, "It wasn't the important anyway, so never mind, you can go back to bed."

"No, it's fine." Nonoko laughed, "I was just testing the sleeping potion I made. So what did you need?"

"Oh, really?" Mikan laughed, "Sorry for disturbing you then. I just wanted to know if you could accompany me to the school. I forgot something in my locker."

"Oh, was that it?" Nonoko asked, "Okay then. Just let me put my jacket on, it's freezing outside."

Nonoko put her jacket on and they walked to the school. "So what's so important in your locker that you have to go there so late at night?"

"Oh, just my algebra homework. I can't do my homework if I don't read my notes and my book. I left them both in my locker, you see." She lied.

"Why won't you do it tomorrow morning when you go there?" She asked mischievously.

"Well, you know me… Always late… Haha!" She tried to think of an excuse since she didn't want anyone to know that she was going to ask her pen pal to the ball.

"But isn't algebra after lunch?" The blue haired girl was now making Mikan nervous.

"Huh? Oh! Uhmm…" They arrived at the school but the door was locked, "Oh look! We're here." She tried opening the door, but it was no use, "oh shoot! It's locked!"

"I guess you'll just have to do your homework tomorrow morning Mikan." Nonoko looked worried, "We can't sneak in the school, if we get caught, we'll bet into a lot of trouble."

"No! I… I can't… I… I have to uhh… I know!" Mikan snapped, "The Class A window!"

"Huh?" Nonoko looked confused, "What about the Class A window?"

"It doesn't lock, Youichi broke the lock when he was younger, and for all I know, their teacher never bothered to report the broken lock to the headmaster, so they weren't able to fix it for all these years. Now come on!" Mikan dragged Nonoko to wherever she was going.

The window was right in front of them, closed, but definitely not locked, the pushed it open and wondered if they would fit in through the window, "Do you think we're going to fit?" Nonoko asked.

"Well, there's one way to find out." Mikan lifted herself and pushed her head into the window, she tried to push the rest of her body in, but no use, she wouldn't fit, so she thought that she should go back out. But no luck, "Uh oh!"

"What do you mean 'uh oh'?" Nonoko looked at Mikan through the other window.

"I'm stuck!"

"What?"

"Try pushing me in."

"Okay." Nonoko walked behind Mikan and pushed her behind so she could get in.

"Ow!"

"What now?"

"That hurts!" Mikan complained, "I mean, no! Keep going! Almost in!"

"Make up your mind!"

"Aaaahh!!!" Mikan screamed as she hit her head on the floor, "Ow, that hurt."

"Okay, my turn." Nonoko stuck her head in the window, getting ready to get stuck, but then…

"Okay!" Mikan was facing away from the window talking to herself but louder than enough for Nonoko to hear, "Now, I'm going to help Nonoko get in that small window!"

"Uhmm… No need, Mikan." Nonoko stood behind her, "I'm already in."

"Huh?" Mikan looked behind her, and sweat dropped.

"I wonder… How did I fit and you didn't?" Nonoko laughed.

"Hahaha! What are you thinking? I'm not fat! Hahaha! You're just really thin." Mikan laughed really loud, avoiding embarrassment. "Well, let's go."

Mikan and Nonoko walked to the classroom and did what they went there for. Mikan pretended to get her book and notebook from the locker, and then bent down to put the letter under the locker.

"Okay, let's go! I'm done." Mikan smiled and they left the school and walked to their dorms rooms.

"By the way, please don't tell anyone about this."

"Why?"

"Well, just don't. Thanks." Mikan smiled at her.

"Okay, then."

They arrived at their dorms and went to their own rooms. Nonoko went to her room and continued doing her experiments, "Hey, we have no algebra tomorrow. Tomorrow's the preparation for the ball." The chemicals started to drip on her hand then... "Ow!!!!!!"

**The next day**

Mikan went to their classroom, she was late, but it was fine since there were no regular classes today. She had no idea why, but she wasn't in a very good mood that she'd greet everyone a good morning. She looked around, everyone was there. She checked under the lockers, "Blue paper? I remember using white… That means he replied!"

Mikan took the paper, went to her seat and read it at once,

"_Mikan,_

_I hope you're all right now._

_Of course, I would want to go to the ball with you. I'll meet you by the punch bowl at exactly 6:30 tomorrow._

_See you there!_

_-Secret Boy_"

"Oh my goodness!" Mikan smiled, "I have a date!"

"You do?" Hotaru asked.

"Yeah!" Mikan was so excited.

"I guess you'll be going with us to buy gifts for our dates then."

"Okay, sure!" Mikan giggled and brought out a pen and paper, this time, red paper and silver pen.

"_Dear Secret Boy,_

_Can't wait to meet you! See you there tomorrow night by the punch bowl!_

_Well, I think I'm fine now. Now that I know I'm going with someone. _

_Can't wait. Take Care. 'Til the ball._

_Rockstar_"

She left it under the locker and went to Central town with Hotaru and the other girls.

A boy walked towards the lockers and got the newly written letter, read it and smiled. Walked away, but didn't notice that the letter fell out of his pocket.

Another boy saw the piece of paper, and read it. Fierce with flaming anger, he tore the paper into tiny little pieces and threw it out the door.

**Tomorrow Night**

Mikan was wearing the dress that she picked the previous day from Ms. Serina. It was color pink. Simple, yet very elegant.

She brought a hand bag, put a few pieces of stationary inside just in case. She put the small box of chocolates inside, together with the Valentine's cards she was going to give her friends.

"Well, I'm going."

**At the grounds**

Music was playing, couples were everywhere, and people were giving gifts to everyone.

"It's 6:25. I better wait by the punch bowl."

Before Mikan walked to the punch bowl, a boy left a note and walked away at once.

Mikan stood there for quite sometime and wondered where he was, "Where is he? It's 6:40 already." She decided to get a drink while waiting, and noticed a small note under the punch bowl,

"_Dear Rockstar,_

_Sorry, but this was a mistake. I don't think it's time for you to know who I am. I think it's too early. Maybe on White Day my gift to you will be to reveal who I really am to you. I hope you're not mad. And besides, something came up, and I really can't go with you tonight._

_I hope you brought a pen and paper though. Because if you want to, we can just write notes while the ball is going on. Just leave your note under the buffet table, and you'll find my next note somewhere very unexpected._

_I'm really sorry. But I just had a bad feeling a bout this. Sorry._

_-Secret Boy_"

Tears began to pile up in Mikan's eyes, but she managed to stop them for now. She sat on a chair and started to write. (Okay, I won't be showing their conversations since they're not very important. But they might come out in the next chapters, so keep your eyes open.)

She left the letter under the buffet table together with the box of chocolates she was supposed to give him and waited for another to come. While waiting, a High School student came to her asking for an autograph, "Hey, you're Mikan Sakura right?" She asked with a warm smile.

"Yes, why?" Mikan smiled back.

"Since it's my last year here in the academy, I just want to have a simple remembrance from someone who's well-known. Think I'm crazy, but my dream is to become a singer, and you're one of my idols. So can I have an autograph and a picture with you?" She asked shyly.

"Sure, why not?" Mikan smiled, as she brought out one of her stationeries and asked for the girl's name, "Naoki." She wrote a note to Naoki and put her signature with a cute heart on it.

"Thank you, very much!" She put the paper in her bag and brought her camera out, "smile!" she took a picture of them both, and put the camera back in her bag.

"You're welcome." Mikan giggled.

"Oh, here." Naoki brought something out of her bag and gave it to Mikan, "A boy asked me to give this to you when he saw me walking your direction, though he said not to mention anything about him, or tell you who he was. It's really weird, but here."

Mikan got it and thanked Naoki as she walked away. She read it and replied to it.

This went on for the rest of the night. When the couples were all asked to dance, a few people stayed on their seats. Mikan, Natsume, Kaname, Sumire and a few other people.

"Kaname? Why aren't you dancing? You're supposed to be enjoying tonight, after all, they only let you out for special reasons." Mikan asked from behind as she was walking towards him.

"Oh, well, a whole bunch of girls asked me, but I said no to all of them." He coughed, "I don't think I should be dancing in my condition."

"Oh, are you all right?" Mikan asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry about me." He smiled, "So why aren't you dancing?"

"The guy I asked couldn't make it."

"Didn't you ask Natsume?"

"Huh? But—" Mikan just remembered, he had no idea, "Oh, never mind that. If you want to know, I think Tsubasa is the right person to ask, I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

"Okay. It's getting late, I think I should go back to the hospital."

"Okay then. Are you okay? Should I accompany you there?"

"That's sweet of you, Mikan. But I'll be just fine." He stood up, he looked like he was having trouble even walking, but Mikan was too tired. She wanted to help, but since he said it was fine, she just watched him go.

Mikan looked around. One of the people who don't have dates is probably my pen pal. She looked around. The only guy she found was Natsume and some other guys from her class that she barely even knew. "Natsume? He can't be my pen pal. Besides, why isn't he dancing with Konaki? And why is Konaki with Kinno?" Mikan walked towards Natsume and sat beside him.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Natsume asked.

"My date couldn't make it." Mikan looked away, "What about you? Aren't you supposed to be with Konaki?"

"Nah, I rejected her request." Natsume looked at the stars, the sky was so clear.

"Hey, look. Just because I'm talking to you, it doesn't mean I forgive you, okay?"

"I think I already figured that out." Natsume looked at her, "Look Mikan, I'm sorry. It really isn't my fault."

"Whatever!" Mikan shouted, but the music was loud enough to cover it up that people other than Natsume couldn't hear it.

"Can I make it up to you by asking you to dance with me tonight?" Natsume smiled.

"Huh?" Mikan was shocked, "But—"

"But what? Tonight, I don't want to have anyone mad at me. Just for tonight." He had that sincere look on in his eyes, "Please Mikan? As if nothing happened. Just for tonight."

"Okay." Mikan smiled, but he could see that there was a hint of unhappiness in here face.

He took her hand and they danced the last five minutes of the couple's dance for that event. Kinno, who was dancing with his sister, Konaki, saw Mikan and Natsume and got clumsy in his dancing and started to step on Konaki's feet, "Hey! Watch it!" Konaki burst in anger, but then saw who was at the other side of the dance floor. Her hands grew very warm, and inside, her blood was boiling. She got a really tight grip on Kinno's hand making him want to let go very badly.

Everyone was staring at Mikan and Natsume smiling at each other.

"What a sight." Hotaru said to Ruka, "This truly is Valentine's day."

"But tomorrow, I'm betting that they'd be arguing each other's heads off." Ruka laughed.

That night, everyone saw a romantic sight in front of them. Mikan thought Natsume was a jerk, she thought he was going back to the Natsume he used to be when they first met, but tonight, she began to think otherwise. Was this going to last? Because if it was, everything would be just fine. Tomorrow, she would wake up realizing that those bad things that happened was just a misunderstanding. She would realize that nothing bad actually happened. She would wake up remembering that when she came home from Hollywood, everything went great, especially with her and Natsume. She would wake up and realize that Konaki never even existed.

Well, that's only IF this was going to last. But too bad Natsume said "As if nothing happened. Just for tonight."

**End of Chapter**

Aaaawww… I'm sorry for those people who were excited to see who the pen pal was. Haha! Well, keep reading and you'll find out! Well, I worked hard on this chapter, because I wanted it to be perfect for today. Since today is VALENTINE'S DAY! Well, the day I updated it, which is Valentine's Day, which is today. To the late readers, so sorry you weren't able to read this on Valentine's Day. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Reviews please! Flames are gladly accepted.

Ridley


	8. Confusion

Author's Notes: Hey guys

**Author's Notes: **Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait again. This time I have a really good excuse for that. I realized that I haven't been updating my stories on time lately, so I was writing my chapters in advanced so I could just update when I think it's the right time without having to worry about rushing. Good enough excuse? Good. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy chapter 8!

**Chapter 8: Confusion**

Mikan was taking a walk by the lake under the wonderful moonlit night when she saw a figure against the light. She walked closer to see who it was until he spoke with a deep, attractive voice, "Mikan, I'm sorry. It's honestly not my fault. I have no idea what's happening but to tell you the truth, no matter what happens, you're still the one I love."

Mikan walked even closer and saw warm, caring ruby eyes. "Natsume?" She tried to figure it out and finally a tiny white light helped her to see who it was. "Look, Natsume I want to believe you but it's just too hard for me right now. I think—"

"Shut your mouth, little girl." A familiar voice came from behind her. She turned around to look but a shadow covered his face although she could see cold ruby eyes clearly. "What? Natsume? But you were just right there." She looked back and saw Natsume there but saw him again right in front of her. "I don't understand."

"You think you can get everything you want just because you're famous now. But you're wrong. Konaki's a whole lot better person than you." Mikan sensed a lot of anger but didn't understand why. She's done nothing wrong and she knew that. She understood the fact that Natsume found a new girlfriend when she was away but she never knew that Natsume was mad at her. "Natsume, I've done nothing wrong to you. You can't get mad at me and tell me these things just because you've found a new girlfriend, Natsume. You have to accept the fact that I'm not over you yet, so don't show off that you and Konaki are together. Don't rub it in my face because you know that it'll just hurt me."

"Mikan, that's not me. Don't listen." The other Natsume spoke from behind her looking weak and helpless.

"Natsume are you OK?" Mikan knelt down to see if he was all right.

"Mikan, stop him." Natsume fainted in Mikan's arms as the Natsume behind her looked at them angrily.

"Come on little girl. You don't think that guy's real. Look closely; his eyes are too caring. That's not me." He gave Mikan an annoying smirk that made her want to beat him up.

"You're not Natsume!" Her tears started to gather in her beautiful brown eyes, "Well, maybe you are, but you won't fool me. Natsume's changed." Her voice got softer as the tears started to fall. "He used to have those cold eyes, but he changed. He changed for me, possibly even _because_ of me. I have no idea why but he did. His personality changed, especially the look in his eyes. They don't look like that anymore." Mikan looked into his eyes and found something wrong, she saw a figure of Konaki in those eyes she thought were Natsume's. "You're not Natsume." She stared into his eyes as the figure became clearer, "Konaki…" Mikan started to pant and feel weak, "You have to stop… doing this… to Natsu… me." She passed out at the sight of Konaki stepping out from behind Natsume and kissed him.

.

.

"Oh, my Gosh!" Mikan woke up from her sleep; she looked around to see where she was or if Natsume or Konaki was there. She gave out a sigh of relief and looked at the time, "Five o'clock AM? It won't hurt to get up earlier than usual today, right?" After realizing she just talked to herself, she kicked her sheets off, turned her alarm off and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

.

.

"Hotaru, why do you have to call us all here to your room this early?" Ruka took his seat in Hotaru's room together with some of their other friends, "I'm not even supposed to be awake at this time yet."

"Hotaru thinks Konaki isn't really behind all this." Hotaru took a sip of her hot chocolate and typed a few things down on her computer.

"What makes you think that?" Yuu asked as he wiped the fog off his glasses.

"I'm not entirely sure and I don't know why but I just have a strong feeling about it." Hotaru typed a couple of things down again which gave everyone else a feeling that she was typing down their conversation.

"Wait, why are you telling us this?" Ana took a bite of a cookie she grabbed In her room right before Hotaru dragged her over to where she was right now.

Not looking away from the computer screen and not taking her hands off the keyboard, Hotaru made sure they would understand and carefully listen to what she was about to say. "Listen carefully, I'm telling you this because if something weird happens, I want you guys to let me know. No, I want you guys to let everyone in this room know."

"Why?" The sudden question escaped Ana's cookie-filled mouth.

"Don't you get it? If something weird or unusual happens we might figure out what's really happening." Hotaru sighed.

"Okay. One question." Ruka started at the computer, "Are you taking down every single thing we're saying?"

"No. I'm programming something in my computer." Hotaru stood up and got tiny watch-looking gadgets from her drawer.

"Cool! Are those like watches that help us talk to each other even when we're like billions of miles away from each other?" Nonoko jumped in excitement.

"No. It's a—"

"Wait! I know!" Ana raised her hand; "It's like a mini computer where we can see each other anytime, anywhere."

"No. It's a device that—"

"I've got it!" Yuu interrupted, "It's a… a… uuhhh… Nah, I've got nothing."

"Just let her talk so we can al get out of here and get ready for class." Ruka took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Thank you, Ruka." Hotaru stood up and gave each of them one of her new inventions, "Invention #283. I don't have a name for it yet, but it's something like a mini video recorder that also functions as a cell phone. It doesn't need batteries; it's powered by any kind of light source. It records everything around you including sound. It can see clearly within fifty feet and can hear everything within thirty feet. So in case you guys don't notice anything weird, the watch records it and automatically sends it to my computer."

"Turn your watches on, don't turn it off unless I say so." Hotaru put her watch on and fiddled on a little more on her computer, "I've just turned on the signal that connects our watches to the computer. So whatever your watches see it'll send the data to the computer. Any questions?"

"Is it water resistant?" Ana asked as she walked to the bathroom to try getting the watch wet.

"Yes, it can go a hundred feet deep under water. It's also fire resistant." Hotaru maintained her serious face trying not to reveal her smile that she figured would say 'what a successful invention'.

"Hotaru, can we go now? It's six o'clock." Ruka worried about being late for class.

"Stop worrying Mr. Punctual. We're done here, you guys can go back now."

.

.

Natsume was laying in bed staring at the ceiling with a look showing he was deep in thought. The sunlight drowning his bedroom in light, the warmth making him comfortable, reminding him of the warm smile that always brightened up his day. Memories kept his mind preoccupied, not knowing if he should be happy those happened or if he should be sad that it's all gone.

Confusion was his main problem; he had no idea what to do. But his main priority right now was to figure out if Mikan was worth it—if she really did mean everything to him and if she was worth everything he lived for—or if Konaki came into his life for a reason, to help him get over Mikan and move on.

He was about to walk into his bathroom to wash up, when something caught his eye. A tiny pink piece of paper sticking out from his drawer, "I don't remember putting that there." He opened the drawer and got the pink paper from inside the pocket of his pants.

'_Hi pen pal :) It's fine that we didn't get to meet today. Happy Valentine's Day, my mind's too preoccupied for me to be writing right now, so maybe we can do this tomorrow instead. I'm sorry, again, happy Valentine's Day. :) -Rock star'_

"Now I remember. I should give this back to her then."

.

.

"_Thanks for the dance Natsume. I had a great time." Mikan turned away and walked to her dorm._

"_Hey." Natsume stopped her, "Let's not make such a big deal about this, and we probably shouldn't let the others make a big deal about it either."_

"_No problem. Good night, Natsume" a tear fell from her eye as thoughts of the past entered her mind, 'Just for tonight, huh? I sure hope it wasn't.'_

_Natsume walked back to his seat to get his stuff and saw something by the seat next to his, "What's this?" He picked it up and opened it, "A note? It's probably hers." He put it in his pocket and walked back to his room, "I'll return it tomorrow."_

.

.

Mikan was walking to the classroom when she noticed she was a half hour early for class, "Maybe I should sit by the sakura tree for a bit." She walked the other way and remembered a lot of things that she'd been through with that tree, "But maybe a walk by the lake wouldn't hurt." She gave herself a smile, which obviously made her feel even more incomplete than she already was.

"I wonder what happened here when I was away." She stared at the sun's reflection on the surface of the lake, "This reminds me of my hometown. I wonder how grandpa's doing. I should write him soon. He's probably getting worried." She sat under a tree by the water and took off her shoes and socks to get her feet wet with the warm water from the lake.

"Hey." A cold voice came from behind her, "You're going to be late. What are you doing here?"

"Natsume?" Mikan remembered her dream by the lake, a low voice calling her from behind. "You… no…"

.

.

A blurry vision of a small group of people in front of her, silent mumbling coming from all around, "Where am I?"

"Guys, she's awake." She heard Yuu's voice call out to others.

"Mikan, are you all right?" Hotaru and Ruka's blurred figures appeared right before her.

"Yeah. What happened?" Mikan tried to sit up but it just hurt her head more.

"You started crying then you passed out, you're lucky I was there." Natsume said from behind Ruka.

"Lucky you were there?" Mikan said angrily, "You're probably the reason why I fainted." Her head hurt even more from the anger.

"Hey! I didn't stay in here with all you guys to get that attitude." He stood up from his seat and headed out, "hearing you thank me was all I was here for, but never mind."

Mikan sighed surprised on how she reacted, "Sorry, guys." Mikan apologized, "You should probably head to class. I'll just wash up and follow."

"OK then. We'll see you in class." Ruka and Yuu walked out of the room.

"Hotaru, you should go too." Mikan tried standing up but her head ache continued to bother her.

"No." Hotaru took her seat, "I know you're upset about Natsume, but why pass out after seeing him? You're not that weak, Mikan."

"I guess I should tell you then." Mikan forced herself to sit up and ignored the pain; "I had this weird dream last night. It scared me, and made me worry. A lot."

"What was it about?"

"Two Natsume's. One was the Natsume I've known all these years." She started to look even paler than she already was, "The other one was like the old Natsume at first, but then I saw something in his eyes. It was like a figure of Konaki, and that's all I remember." Her headache started to disappear as she started to feel relieved that she'd finally told someone, "You wouldn't understand. You should go to class now, I'll follow."

"I think I understand." Hotaru smiled, "Don't worry." She walked out the door as soon as Mikan stood up and went to the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and saw how much she'd changed, "I have no idea why but I look and act different from before. I just can't see why. It can't all be because of Natsume." She washed her face, put her shoes on and went to the clinic's office to tell them she was leaving.

"OK. Give this note to your teacher so you'll be excused." The nurse handed her a note that had the doctor's signature at the bottom, "Be careful now, Ms. Sakura."

"I will, thanks." Mikan headed to her classroom and saw Kinno running past her.

"Kinno?"

"Huh? Oh, good morning Mikan." Kinno greeted her with a warm smile, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Aren't you?" Mikan grinned.

"Yeah, but I woke up late today. My sister kept me up all night last night crying over how Natsume didn't ask her to the dance." He gave out a loud laugh that was probably heard inside the clinic, "Sorry. But it's just funny how possessive she can get."

"Yeah, that's funny." Mikan gave out a sad smile.

"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot about your situation with them." He frowned, "Come one, we should get to class."

.

.

Natsume and the others arrived in the classroom and found that the teacher was out for the day. "How lucky are we?" Ruka laughed.

"Come on, Ruka." Natsume and Ruka walked to their seats. Natsume sat there quietly with his hand in his pocket. He felt something inside and remembered about the note, "Hold on, Ruka. I need to do something." He walked to Mikan's seat and was about to leave the note on her desk until she entered the room.

She was smiling and it looked like she was talking to someone. Then that's when he saw a guy come in with her, "Kinno." He said to himself and crumpled the paper out of anger, "Forget about your stupid letter, little girl. You can just look for it in the garbage yourself."

.

.

"Hey, Kinno!" Mikan tapped him in the shoulder, "Do you want to have lunch with us? They're having a buffet in the main building today."

"Oh, OK. Sure." He looked at his sister who seemed to be busy with her other friends, "I'll just fix up then I'll follow."

"No problem. We'll see you there then."

.

.

"Mikan!" A voice called from behind her.

"Oh, hi Kinno. Just in time we're about to fall in line for the food."

They got their food from the buffet table and walked to their table. "Oh, my. There's only one seat left and there's no more space." Mikan looked worried, "Hotaru, I thought you said there was space for one more?"

"Yeah. But when you entered the classroom I told you that Koko was going to sit with us at lunch. Sorry, Kinno." Hotaru lied.

"Oh. I guess I wasn't paying attention." Mikan scratched her head and looked embarrassed, "Sorry, Kinno. I had no idea."

"No, it's fine. I'll just sit with my sister." He smiled.

"But Hotaru, didn't you just ask Koko to sit here with us a moment ago?" Ana whispered.

"Keep quiet! I just don't want her hanging out with Kinno. I have a bad feeling about him." Hotaru quietly said to Ana and Nonoko.

"Oh! Kinno, you dropped something." Mikan said aloud although it looked like Kinno didn't hear. She opened up the paper and it read, '_Hey there Rock star. I didn't get a reply from you last night. How was the ball? –Secret Boy_'

"Kinno's my pen pal?"

**End of Chapter**

Hey, sorry it had to end this way. School's about to start and I wanted to finish watching all the anime I downloaded. But this chapter wasn't rushed at all this time. Thanks for all your support guys. :)

Anyways, reviews please. Flames are accepted.


	9. Truth Yet to be Revealed

Author's Notes: Hey guys

**Author's Notes: **Hey guys. I'm updating on time. See? :) Anyway, although I didn't get a lot of reviews for the previews chapter, I hope I still get full support from my readers. :)

Sorry for the confusion from the previews chapter, but to those who got confused, I'll explain it right here, right now. :D

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Gakuen Alice and any of these characters except for Konaki and Kinno who happen to be original characters I made up for this FanFic.

——_Previews Chapter——_

_OK, so the paper Natsume has was dropped by Mikan during the Valentine's Ball. It was meant for her pen pal since they were writing to each other because they weren't able to meet up due to her pen pal's unexpected "emergency."_

_Then at the end of the chapter, Kinno drops a piece of paper and Mikan picks it up. Mikan reads it and it's a letter from Secret Boy to Rock Star. And that's when Mikan finds out who her pen pal is._

——_End——_

OK, so if you still don't get it, I'd be happy to explain it to you through message. It'll have more details, now, on with the story.

**Chapter 9: Truth Yet to be Revealed**

"Kinno?" Mikan stood there in shock, "No way."

"Mikan, what's wrong?" Ruka waved his hand repeatedly in front of Mikan's face, "Hello, Earth to Mikan. What's wrong?"

"Is this a joke?" Mikan's eyes got all big as she ran around all panicky.

"Mikan! Calm down! What's the matter?" Ruka tried yet failed to get a hold of the brunette.

"I'm sorry I'm all right now." Mikan walked away nervously and headed to her room.

.

"I can't believe it!" She ran around in circles massaging her head angrily not worrying about the fact that her hair was getting all messy, "Kinno? But he— No!"

.

"That girl has one lucky butt." Hotaru stared at Mikan's window, "We got free time the whole afternoon just when we all thought she wouldn't show up for class."

"Maybe it's a coincidence." Ruka grinned.

"There's no such thing as coincidences." The raven haired girl started to walk away and headed to the faculty room.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to talk to Mr. Narumi." She muttered without even bothering to stop walking for a short while, "You go somewhere else. Don't get in my way. Just let me know if you found anything out about Konaki's Alice or something."

"No problem." Ruka watched her walk away slowly and thought of where he should go, "Maybe I'll follow Konaki around, maybe Kinno." He thought hard of where they might have been, "Central Town. But I don't have enough money for the bus and I can't walk there."

He looked around suspiciously, left and right, making sure no one from their group was around, "I'll just go around campus and rely on the video watch to find stuff for me."

He walked around campus looking for stuff to do and then ran into Nonoko by the sakura tree, "Why aren't you with Ana? Is the Technical Duo finally separated now?" Ruka gave a light laugh.

Nonoko looked up from her watch and saw Ruka standing so close to her, "Hi Ruka. These watches are awesome; Hotaru can even send us video messages through it. She told us to go around the whole school and find stuff out about Konaki and Kinno's power, why Natsume's acting weird—besides the fact that Konaki's controlling him—and other stuff like that." Nonoko continuously, "Since I'm looking around here, Ana and I decided to go separate ways to make work faster and easier."

'_Not a good idea to come here I guess._' Ruka thought and decided to just go somewhere else, "OK, since you're already here, I'll just go somewhere else."

"Good idea. When you find stuff out, don't forget to tell Hotaru so we can discuss it in her room." Nonoko acted all excited about what they were doing.

"Are you OK, Nonoko?" Ruka scratched the back of his head and quietly chuckled to himself, "You seem to be all jumpy."

"I'm fine. Now, go!" She had an enormous grin on her face which sort of freaked Ruka out and made him think it'd be best to just leave.

"Um… OK, see you later, Nonoko." Ruka slowly ran off relieved about the simple fact that he got away from Nonoko's noisy, annoying voice that kept going on and on like a frog on a rainy day, "I guess this wasn't a good place to go to. And the lake isn't such a bad idea. Right, the lake it is." He talked to himself and walked towards the back of the high school building where the lake was.

"Where is she? I could've sworn I heard her tell her friends she'd be going here today." Ruka heard loud mumbling from behind one of the trees, "I came here for a reason, you know?"

"Ana?" Ruka looked behind the tree and caught a pink-haired Technical type girl talking to a bunch of bugs carrying food to their home.

"Oh, hi Ruka," Ana looked up and turned her attention from the bugs to Ruka, "What are you up to?"

"Good question if you were asking yourself." Ruka said jokingly, "But seriously, who talks to bugs?"

"Apparently, I do. I find it relaxing. At least I'm not talking to nothing." Ana smiled, "Anyway, I'm here because Hotaru told everyone to look out for weird and suspicious stuff. I heard Konaki telling her friends she'd be here this afternoon, so I came here and thought that maybe I'd talk to her and ask her a few questions myself." Ana grinned and felt proud of herself, "I feel so smart now."

"Really? I thought she was in Central Town with her brother today?" Ruka remembered what he heard earlier.

"Oh my gosh, seriously?" Ana stood up carefully making sure she hadn't stepped on any of her bug friends, "Then I better get going! See you later, Ruka." She ran off quickly watched by a golden-haired boy from behind, "I think I know why those two hang out so much. Ana controls the insane chatter box, Nonoko; while Nonoko makes Ana seem smarter."

"Anyway, I can't stay here, there aren't much people and the watch won't get anything here." Ruka talked to himself, "Where to go?" He started to walk slowly and just followed wherever his feet led him to.

"Ruka!" A childish masculine voice loudly called from afar.

"Hi there Yuu." Ruka continued walking slow enough for the other blonde haired boy to catch up, "Where are you headed?"

"I came from the library but I got bored waiting for people to come in, so I thought I'd go to Hotaru and talk to her a little." Yuu explained with a hint of exhaust in his voice, "Where do you think she is?"

"She told me she was going to talk to some teachers in the faculty room. She's probably done by now, maybe you'll find her in the canteen buying herself food or something." He assumed that the mysterious raven-haired girl would be stuffing her face with food right now, "But if I were you, I wouldn't bother her right now. She seemed to be deep in thought a while back."

"OK, thanks for letting me know." Yuu thanked Ruka properly and headed off to see Hotaru.

"What now, Nogi?" He talked to himself yet again and thought of one place people rarely go to, especially his friends, "Library, but what on earth do I do there?"

He walked slowly to the library giving himself time to think of what to do and he finally arrived, "Maybe I'll borrow a book and read it here or something." Ruka walked into the library and read a book that caught his eye on one of the shelves. Although slowly his eyes felt heavy and made him want to just lie his head down on the table and fall asleep right there, and he did.

.

Mikan walked around campus trying to look for something to do, wondering what would keep her busy enough to forget about what's been bugging her for the past hour. "Eat? No, I'm kind of on a diet." She wore a straight face and thought even harder, "Lake? Sakura tree? Hotaru's lab?" Mikan thought even harder, "No good, those places would just remind me of everything about Natsume and then here comes Kinno— No! What about Hotaru's lab? Not good either, I don't want to get in the way of her work."

She continued to walk around campus following her feet. The warm breeze blew against her face pushing her hair back as she walked the quiet roads of Alice Academy. She walked by the garden, the sakura tree, the lake, every single place her feet led her to, but these places were no good.

"Where in this school can a problematic and troubled girl like me find a quiet, relaxing place to be alone?!" She screamed out of nowhere forcing everyone around her to stare for a matter of long seconds, "Sorry, carry on… carry on." She politely asked everyone to go back to their own business as she covered her face in embarrassment and walked away shyly trying not to let anyone stare at her again.

Once again, she walked around trying as hard as she could to look for a place to be alone and do something that would help her think of other things besides Kinno being her pen pal.

"I've got it!" She took the bus and stopped at a certain place she knew she'd have fun even when she was alone, "Central Town! Not bad, Sakura. You've got your mind working well today, huh?" She congratulated herself with such a lousy excuse to do so.

She bought herself a small box of Howalons and sat down on a bench behind a tree facing the seaside part of Alice Academy. She watched boats sail and birds fly, looked for shapes that the few clouds that passed by formed, and got as much dandelions she could find in the area, made several different wishes for each of them and enjoyed every single blow she gave them.

People stared at her amazed at how she can do all these things in public all alone. It's not everyday you see a teenage girl wearing a childish smile on her face doing what eight or nine year old children usually do. There was no one who passed by that didn't at least glance at her for a millisecond among all the people who walked past her way.

"What now? I'm starting to get bored, again." She spoke to herself right when people stopped passing by trying to ignore and forget the fact that a whole bunch of them looked at her weirdly for some weird reason she had no idea about.

.

A handsome young man rested his head on his folded arms on a book on the table. Giggles were heard in that certain area of a supposedly silent place in campus. "What is it with all the giggling, girls?" Serina asked her students as she walked in the library carrying a specific book in hand.

"Sensei, look at Ruka sleeping like a handsome angel." One of the girls said as if she'd seen the most wonderful thing on earth. With that, all the girls started to giggle and squeal with joy and shivers rushing up and down their backs.

"Is that all?" the blonde haired teacher approached the sleeping boy about to wake him up. "No! Please? Not until we take pictures." Sumire and Misato pleaded and got on their knees.

"I'd love to make you girls happy but everyone knows it's a rule not to sleep in the library." Serina walked closer to the sleeping boy and shook him lightly to end his not so peaceful slumber, "Mr. Nogi it's time to wake up." She shook harder.

"Ruka! It's me, Sumire!" Sumire skipped closer to him as Misato tailed behind her like usual, "Wake up my golden haired prince." Sparkles appeared in her eyes which made it look like she was having another one of her fantasies with Natsume or Ruka in it.

"Huh? Where am I?" He lifted his eyelids revealing his beautiful grayish blue eyes. He saw all the giggling girls around him and remembered he fell asleep in the library not long ago, "Ah!" He freaked out at the sight of all the girls as he figured they were watching him sleep, "What's up with all you girls anyway, huh? Can't a sleeping guy have some privacy around here?"

"It's not their fault Mr. Nogi. It was your own fault for falling asleep here." Serina smiled and wore a look on her face which gave Ruka the thought that she wanted to laugh. She cleared her throat and straightened up her face, "Anyway, I'll let you off with a warning today, Ruka. The next time you're caught doing these things again, I'll have to give you detention, understand?"

Ruka was about to answer when he saw the title of the book Serina was holding, he couldn't help but wonder.

"Ruka? Ruka?" She said his name repeatedly waiting for an answer to leave his mouth, "Mr. Nogi?"

"Yes ma'am?" Ruka stood up straight and saluted to Serina which made everyone looked at him strangely, "Sorry, Sensei, but may I know what that book you're reading is about?" Ruka pointed at the book she was holding close to her chest.

"Oh, this? _Twin Alices_, I don't really know. When I saw it I thought it was about two people with the same Alices however, when I read the summary at the back, it's actually an autobiography about the first ever pair of twins who entered the Alice Academy around twenty to thirty years ago. In all the years of the Alice Academy foundation, they were the first ever pair of twins, however, weren't in this branch of Alice Academy. It was the one in Europe." She explained about everything she knew about the book so far, "I haven't actually read it and I don't really have a lot of time to come to the library everyday to read it, so I thought I'd just borrow it. If you want to read it, I think they have another copy of it in the back shelf over there at the third floor of the library." She pointed at the third floor which they could see above the area opposite the window.

"Why does this library have to be so huge?" Ruka put on a lazy, whiny face which got to everyone. "I don't know either, but it's really convenient, although it's tiring to look for a specific book since every category consists of ten aisles arranging the books mostly in alphabetical order." Serina explained, "Anyway, I think I better get going, I have to attend the faculty meeting."

"Bye and thanks." Ruka waved his hand and headed to the third floor with the help of a library employee who was in charge of transporting students from one floor to another. Stairs barely existed in the new buildings of the school.

Ruka arrived at the place he was told the book was. The sun was halfway covered by the trees outside the window. Not long after he found the shelf, he saw a thin book with the title of _Twin Alices_. "Hello there. I'll be reading you for a while if you don't mind." Ruka talked to the inanimate object on the shelf as he grabbed it and opened it to a page somewhere near the middle.

_My sister and I were at Central Town one day buying Howalons. We tried to forget about the fact that it was no longer safe for us to be together. However, once we returned to returned to the main building, we ran into the headmaster_

_It was unusual for him to be walking around campus; usually he'd stay inside his office doing paper work or something. He approached us slowly with a disappointed look on his face, that's when we both sensed bad news. He came closer and asked us to come with him to the faculty room._

_When we got there all the teachers started whispering with worried looks on their faces. Some of them even avoided to look at us directly. Then that's when the bad news came out. My sister couldn't bare the thought that they were sending one of us to The Alice Academy in Europe. The good thing was we got to choose who had to leave and who had to stay. But that was it. It was obviously a hard decision to make._

_Why did it have to end like this? That's what we both thought, but we realized it wasn't the end yet. We just didn't know how to deal with something so difficult._

"I don't get this." Ruka whined after reading about one or two pages of the book, "Why are they separating?" He closed the book then opened it to a page closer to the start and got lucky. He read it carefully and a certain paragraph caught his eye, "No way!"

**End of Chapter**

Cliffhanger! Sorry guys.

23 June 2008

There's a typhoon today so there are no classes. :D I got excited about updating so I did. I just watched _Camp Rock_ and I got really hyper so thanks to Camp Rock I'm updating.

Reviews please, flames are accepted. Thanks

**Don't be afraid to give criticisms or suggestions, it'll make me happy and it'll help me a lot. Thanks :D**


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